The Farm
by SBurrito
Summary: When Sasha escapes her old life in the city, she decides to move to Stardew Valley, but will it be as great as she had hoped for? And will she truly escape? [Rated M for some strong language and themes] (I do not own any video game brands or characters mentioned in this story, and all companies belong to their rightful owners)
1. Chapter 1 - A Fresh Start

Chapter 1

Sasha woke with a jump, startled by the pothole the taxi driver had just driven over. Just a week ago, she decided to look into the letter she had received from her grandfather, who had passed away many years before, and was on her way to Stardew Valley. She had read about it online, and favored the idea of moving into the quaint little town.

She had loved the idea of owning a farm ever since she was a little girl, running around all the plants and feeding the animals when she visited her grandfather. He used to ask her to help him with the common daily chores, but after her grandfather had passed away, she forgot about the days she cherished most.

A few minutes later, Sasha drifted off once more, dreaming about all the adventures she might have there, only to be woken by a noticeably tired and grumpy man when she arrived at the entry of the farm. She paid the driver the heavy fee, and asked if he would be kind enough to help her with her luggage. He sighed deeply and slowly unfastened his seat belt, mumbling something under his breath that Sasha couldn't understand. He unpacked her bags from the trunk, and then slammed it closed. Sasha happily said, "Thank you for the ride!" only to have realized that he was already in the car, with the engine started. He drove off, leaving Sasha standing alone with her things. Now, in the quiet, she had a moment to admire the large house, glad that she asked Robin, the local carpenter, to do the repairs before she had arrived.

As she stood in silence she could not help but think to herself about how lovely the old house was, taking a mental note to remember to thank Robin later for her amazing Handiwork.

"Wow!" She thought.

"I'm so lucky to be living here. I wonder where I can find Robin's House, I need to thank her!"

After she had dragged her few boxes into her house, Sasha sat down on a rickety chair that had been there for god knows how long, sighing at the large amount of other boxes she had delivered to her house with her furniture, extra clothes and other unnecessary items. She stood up and stretched her arms, eventually deciding that she would move her bed upstairs, set up her sheets, and then collapse into bed. She checked her watch. It was 2:14 pm, so she had plenty of time. She didn't take into account how difficult it would be to move her bed into the upstairs bedroom however, and only got the bed up a few hours later. Her sheets weren't as difficult to carry, and she made up her bed in no time. Finally, after she cleaned the sink, found her toothbrush and pajamas, and jumped onto the bed, she thought to check her watch again. 9:50.

"Damn!" She thought.

"It got way too late." she sighed. "I thought i'd at least have time to introduce myself to _someone_!"

She yawned grumpily, but after climbing into the bed, her anger drifted away as she quickly fell into a deep sleep under the warm cotton sheets.

The next morning, Sasha jumped up to the sound of her screaming alarm clock, startled. After rubbing her eyes, she glanced at the alarm clock, and was nearly shocked to see that it was 6:00 in the morning. She wanted to fall back asleep, but after 5 minutes of contemplation, she decided that she would have to wake up a lot earlier than normal if she wanted to be a _real_ farmer. She dragged herself out of her warm bed, took a shower and got dressed for the day. While looking through a small grocery bag for cereal, she made a mental checklist of things she would have to do today.

\- Find the shops and buy groceries

\- Meet at least 5 people

\- Unpack

\- Find a gift for Robin to thank her

After eating, she walked to her front door, and just as she was about to turn the knob, she jumped at the sound of a knock. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a friendly face.

"Hello?" said Sasha.

"Hi! Welcome to Stardew Valley! I'm Robin!" said the stranger.

"R-Robin? Really? It is so nice to finally meet you! I was actually going to find your house later on and thank you. You did an amazing job with the house!" said Sasha.

"Aww, well that's very kind of you! I wanted to introduce myself to you, so that you would have someone to talk to if you needed help." said Robin. She took off her worn rucksack, and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. She handed it to Sasha. "Also, I wanted to give you this; It is a map of our town! It might seem small, but it's easy to get lost, so I thought you might be able to use this."

"Really?" said Sasha. "That is so kind of you! I really appreciate it, and I am glad that you came over. I was actually stunned by the condition of the house when I got here… it's amazing! Are you sure I paid you enough? It looked like a lot of work." Sasha had used most of her savings to pay Robin for the carpentry work, but it seemed to her like it wasn't enough.

"Of course!" said Robin. "I'm just glad that you like it. I worked especially hard because you're new here, and I wanted you to feel welcome. Anyway, I must be leaving now; I have a lot of work to do. Lewis asked me to make new tables for the Egg Festival…Oh! By the way, it's on the 13th of spring, and starts at around 9:00. I hope I see you soon, and if not, at the Egg Festival!" said Robin, walking away.

"Bye!" said Sasha, waving to Robin.

"She's sweet!" thought Sasha. "I hope everyone is like her."


	2. Chapter 2 - Pierre

Chapter 2

After meeting with Robin, Sasha was eager to see other people, as she thought that they might also be as nice. She closed her door and went back into her house to fetch a backpack. After some rummaging around in boxes, Sasha finally found a large, blue, backpack.

"Perfect!" she thought.

After placing the map into her bag, she decided that she would also need a few other items to take along with her. She grabbed a water bottle, some nature snacks, and a small journal. As she put the backpack on, she started to feel excited, like an adventurer. She put on her worn sneakers, and walked over to the door. After she locked the door behind her, her excitement was dulled as she stared into the field, realizing that she would need tools to clear the masses of debris before she could start planting. On her way to the town, which wasn't too far from her house, she noticed a large, oddly shaped sack right next to the entrance of her farm. Sasha cautiously walked over to the sack, and opened it up, surprised to see what was inside.

"Tools!" she thought.

She happily dragged the large sack next to her front porch and rummaged through the bag before finding a small bag of seeds with the image of a parsnip on them, and a note. The note read:

 _Dear Sasha,_

 _Welcome to Stardew Valley! I am happy that we're going to see a new face around here. I hope you find these items helpful._

 _Enjoy!_

 _Mayor Lewis_

 _(PS: The seeds enclosed can only be grown in the spring. They're for parsnips, which can be used for some cooking, or can be sold, too.)_

Stunned by this generosity, Sasha pulled out her map, looking for where Mayor Lewis' house was, because now, she needed to thank him too! She took the tools out, one by one, and placed them into her rucksack, grateful that they all fit without any issues. She then carefully placed the seeds and note into a side pocket, careful so that they wouldn't rip. After folding up the sack and placing it onto her porch, she headed back towards the town. After walking for just a few minutes, the silence was broken by the sound of people's voices, gradually getting louder as she got closer. When she finally arrived, she quickly scanned the area. She saw a General Store, Clinic, a few houses, and what looked like a Bar or Saloon. She also saw a few pathways leading in different areas, but she decided to head towards the general store first. When she entered, a small bell rang, and the man behind the counter looked up. When he saw Sasha, a huge smile spread across his face. He has brownish orange hair, and was wearing glasses. He walked in front of the counter to greet her.

"Hi!" he said.

"My name is Pierre. I own this general store. You are…Sasha right? It's nice to finally meet you."

"Hello!" said Sasha.

"It's nice to meet you too! I came here to buy some seeds, do you think you could help me out?"

As they shook hands, Pierre motioned to the shelves stocked with seeds, cooking supplies, wallpaper, and all sorts of other things.

"Of course!" said Pierre.

"Come to the counter, I'll show you what you can grow during this season."

"During this season, you can only grow a few plants…."

As Pierre explained the basics of gardening to Sasha, she picked out a few seed packets. Each of them had a different picture on them of what they grew.

"I think I'll take 5 Potato seed packets, and 5 Green bean seed packets." said Sasha.

"Good choice!" said Pierre.

"By the way Sasha, the Green beans grow on stalks, so even after the first harvest, you can continue to harvest green beans until the season is over!"

"Oh? Cool! Thanks for the tip." said Sasha.

After placing the packets into her bag, she paid for her items, and then waved to Pierre just before pushing open the glass door.

"Friendly." thought Sasha.

She glanced at her watch. It was 12:20. Plenty time to start farming!

After arriving back at home, Sasha pulled a gently worn hoe out of her bag, and started to till the soil. She was eager to start a new life here, and was ready to turn her past into a distant memory.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Trio

Chapter 3

As Sasha tilled the ground, she noticed a person approach her. She wiped the sweat off of her head, and turned to speak to the person.

"Hi!" said Sasha.

The person was not one, but two. One, was a guy, around Sasha's age, and had bright blond hair. He wore a blue hoodie, and carried a skateboard in his arms. The other, was a girl, also around Sasha's age, who had purple hair, and wore a green bow. She wore dark clothes, but had a smile on her face.

"Hola!" said the guy. "I'm Sam, and this is Abigail." The girl waved.

"Call me Abby." said Abigail.

"Oh! I've heard about you two, I think Lewis sent me a letter about you guys. He said that we're all around the same age, so he thought we might get along." said Sasha.

Sasha took off her dirty gloves, and shook hands with Sam and Abigail. It was at this moment that she noticed someone standing behind Sam. He was skinny, with dark hair, and was taller than Sam. He had a small smile on his face, and was staring at a small rock that he had been kicking around. He looked up slowly, and noticed Sasha staring, then quickly looked back down and blushed.

"He's…cute! He seems nice too…" thought Sasha.

"Hi, I'm Sasha, nice to meet you!" said Sasha

"O-oh, um…" the guy muttered and blushed. "I-I'm Sebastian."

Sasha smiled, but quickly snapped back into the situation.

"Oh God, i'm being so rude! I would invite you guys in, but I don't quite have any of my furniture unpacked…" said Sasha.

"Oh, that's fine," said Abigail. "We just wanted to stop by and say hi. We wanted you to have some friends of your own age. Not just Lewis!" Abigail winked, and Sasha giggled.

Sam glanced at his watch as the two of them exchanged small talk.

"Oh, Shit! We were supposed to be at the studio 10 minutes ago for rehearsal!" said Sam.

"Crap, Really?" said Abigail. "Well, we'll be off then. We normally meet up at the Saloon around 9pm, will we see you there?" The three started running off, Sam on his Skateboard.

"Yeah!" yelled Sasha.

"They seem cool!" she thought.

Sasha glanced at her watch. It was already 4:05 pm. She glanced over at the squares of dirt she tilled. She quickly decided that she had done enough farming for the day, and walked over to her house to change into clean clothes. After she had showered, she put on a white shirt and some black leggings. As she tied her hair into a Ponytail, she decided that she would at least have a bit more than a bed to sleep with tonight, shuddering at the thought of the pillow and thin blanket that she had slept with in the taxi.

After 4 and ½ hours, she had successfully:

\- Built a small side table to go next to her bed

\- Built up a table and 4 chairs

\- Set up a small TV, and her gaming consoles

\- Built up and filled a book shelf with comics and other various books

\- Stocked her fridge with a few vegetables and snacks from Pierre's shop

After she was finished cleaning up, Sasha glanced at a clock on the wall. It was now 8:45pm.

"Hmm. Where's that map?" Sasha thought. "I need to find the Saloon."

She grabbed her favorite hoodie, slipped on her favorite sneakers, and checked the map for the Saloon. After 15 minutes of getting lost after taking a wrong path, she finally arrived at the saloon. As she opened the door, she saw what seemed like 20 people in the saloon. It was a warm Friday evening, and she quickly realized everyone was socializing at the Saloon before the weekend began.

"Too many people…" thought Sasha. Ever since the "incident", she had trouble adjusting to large crowds of people she didn't know. Luckily, she knew she would eventually get to know them all. After shuffling around, she spotted Abigail, Sam and Sebastian in a small room with a pool table. Sam waved and beckoned her over.

"H-hi." Said Sasha, who squeezed out of the crowd into the room. The room had two arcade games, some couches, a vending machine and a pool table. Sasha immediately noticed that Sam and Abigail were both playing pool, while Sebastian sat quietly on the couch.

"Wanna play Farmer Girl?" said Sam.

"Erm, no thanks, you guys can finish your game." said Sasha. "I'll join the next one."

"You sure?" said Abigail. Sasha Nodded.

She went to go sit next to Sebastian. Sebastian looked up at her and smiled, and patted the seat next to him.

"Hey." Said Sebastian.

"Hey!" said Sasha. "How are you?"

"Good,"he replied. "I'd rather be home though, I just got the new Zelda game, but Sam practically dragged me here... wait, sorry you don't know what Zelda is, I tend to ramb-"

"You got BOTW?!" exclaimed Sasha. "I haven't gotten my copy yet from gamestop…they said it was some sort of shipping issue, but I call bull! I can't..."

As Sasha rambled on, Sebastian loosened up. He could feel that they would get along well. At 12, the group of 4 decided to head home. Sebastian waved and smiled at Sasha, and she waved back. On his way home, Sam ran up to Sebastian, eventually Abigail caught up too.

"So, she's hot, eh? I'm thinking of taking her out-" said Sam.

"Sam! No." said Abigail.

"Why not?" said Sam, pouting.

"Because," said Abigail, "Sebby obviously _likes_ her. And I think she _likes_ him."

"W-what?!" said Sebastian, sputtering and blushing. "N-no…"

"Ooooooh" said Sam and Abigail, harmoniously.

"You totally do Sebby, y'all were talking the whole night. Want me to hook you two up?" said Abigail, snickering.

Sebastian stayed silent, but sighed, pulling out a cigarette.

"Seb what the hell! I thought you were trying to quit!" said Sam.

"I was, but you guys are getting on my nerves. You're both wrong." said Sebastian. He couldn't however deny the fact that he liked Sasha a _teeny_ bit, they both had the same interests, she had the same style…

"Maybe I should ask her to hang out…" thought Sebastian.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Dog

Chapter 4

When Sasha woke the next day, she decided that she would make her rounds, and finally introduce herself to everyone. After a couple of hours, she arrived back at home, to see a note sitting in front of her door.

The note read:

"Hey Sasha, come to my farm ASAP, I have something to show you!

-Marnie"

As she opened the door to Marnie's little shop, she spotted a small dog sitting next to the fireplace. Normally, she wouldn't have thought of it as odd, but it definitely wasn't there earlier. As she stood and admired the dog, who was sleeping peacefully, Marnie walked out from the Kitchen, while wiping her hands with a cloth.

"Ah!" said Marnie. "I see you've found Honey! The poor thing was sitting here on my doorstep this mornin', all huddled up and whimperin'. I brought her in and gave her food, and she perked up mighty fine!"

"Oh wow. She seems so sweet!" said Sasha. The dog slowly opened her eyes and walked cautiously to Sasha, but when Sasha kneeled down, Honey ran over and licked Sasha's open hand. "Aww…" she hummed.

"That's actually what I wanted to ask you about… Sasha, would you mind taking her in?" said Marnie. "I don't have the space for her, and I think you two will do mighty well together."

Sasha pondered over the thought. "It has been kind of lonely at the farm…and I don't have any animals yet, so it feels empty." thought Sasha.

"Hmm…Okay!"she said.

"Really? Great!" said Marnie.

Marnie walked over to the counter. She said that she would have some dog food delivered to her house (Free of charge for taking the dog) and gave her a big bag to last until the rest was delivered. Marnie also said that she would still have to check it for ticks, but that she would have the dog by the end of the day. As she walked Sasha out, she mentioned that there was an old dog bowl outside of the house, and that she could clean it and use it for Honey.

As Sasha was walking back to her farm, she stumbled with the huge weight on her shoulders. Sebastian, who was smoking at a nearby lake noticed.

"Be cool Seb..." he thought.

As he approached her, he noticed how strong she looked, even though she had only been working on the farm for a just under a week and was struggling with the bag.

"Hey, uh, can I help?" said Sebastian. Sasha jumped and dropped the bag. "Oh god. I'm sorry…" he said.

"Oh, haha…don't worry about it." said Sasha. She wiped her forehead and sat on a nearby log. "Phew. I'm beat." she said.

Sebastian shifted around awkwardly for a few minutes, when Sasha offered him a snack.

"Want one?" she said. "These are nature snacks. I've been making them recently because they keep me energized and are easy to make. They aren't amazing, but i'm working on the recipe." They shone in her bag.

Sebastian shyly took one from her, and examined it before biting into it. It was sweet and chewy, with an earthy nut taste. Delicious.

"Wow..." he said. "These are great! What do you use to make them?"

"Oh, well I finished clearing my farm, and collected a ton of seeds and stuff while doing so. It turns out that they're super healthy and can be used in cooking…"

As she rambled on about the nutrients, Sebastian gazed deeply into her eyes, admittedly, excited that they were talking.

" **No**." he thought. "I can't do this again. I dated Abby, and then _she_ broke my heart. I'm better off single..."

As they finished eating, Sasha rolled up her sleeves and re-tied her laces. They heaved up the bag together, and carried it to her porch. Sebastian waved and disappeared into the forest. It was getting dark, and Sasha had been busy. So she decided to get ready for bed. Just as she was about to change, she heard a knock on her door. As she opened it, Honey jumped up and greeted her happily. Marnie and Sasha chatted for a bit before Marnie handed her a leash and blanket for Honey. Marnie waved and headed home. Sasha got into bed, with Honey sitting near the fireplace on a soft blanket. They fell asleep together, drifting off into the dreams of farm life.


	5. Chapter 5 - Before the Egg Hunt

Chapter 5

It had been two weeks since Sasha had moved into Stardew Valley, and she was getting used to the lifestyle that she had grown accustomed to. She was now running a 15x15 patch of plants that she grew neatly and cared for, and was friends with almost everyone in the valley.

Sasha woke up excited. It was the egg festival! She knew it started early, so she made an effort to wake up and tend to her plants. This would allow her to have plenty of time so that she could enjoy the festival during the day. Jas and Vincent spoke so fondly of the festival that even Sasha was starting to get very excited. After she had tended to her plants, she put on her new, clean converse, a white shirt with an open, red-checked button up top, and a pair of nice jeans. The weather was sunny, so she tied her hair into a ponytail, and decided to walk leisurely to town.

As Sasha was walking, she noticed something round and blue, in a bush. As she approached it, it seemed to vanish.

"What the…?" she said. "I swear I saw something."

She shook it off, and continued walking, but after a minute or so, she saw it again.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" she thought. "Is someone pranking me? I bet it's Alex…"

Sasha went over to investigate the bush, but all she found was a note, swcribbled in some sort of text. She put the note in her pocket and stood up.

She looked at her watch, and realized the festival had begun while she was investigating, so she decided to look around later. She ran towards the town, and as she grew closer, the music grew louder, and the smell became more prominent.

As she stepped into town, she gasped at the sight. There were tables of glistening food. Warm honey baked ham, fresh garden salads, steaming fruit pies, homemade potato salad, artisan cheeses and more decorating two long dinner tables.

In the middle of the gathering, Lewis was standing on a large pale mat, with a cardboard cutout of the Easter bunny standing next to him. There was a hole in the rabbits face for people to put their face through and take photos. Several tables and chairs were scattered around, and everyone was chatting and socializing. Jas, Vincent and Maru were all talking to Lewis about the Egg hunt.

Sam beckoned her over, but as Sasha was walking, she felt a wave of energy and a "Shhhhh" wash through her. She always experienced those as a child, and as long as she could remember. Especially when she visited her grandpa's farm. Now, they were getting stronger, and louder. The voices. She shook it off, and walked over.

"Hey Farmer Cutie!" said Sam. Sasha's eyes widened and she blushed.

"Sam, seriously? Jesus, don't be such a tool." said Abigail.

"M'leh!" he replied, sticking his tongue out.

Sebastian smiled and shook his head at Sam's gesture.

"Ugh, anyway Farmer, do you have a phone number? We have a group chat. Sebby here doesn't say much, but it's still fun…" said Sam. "Don't worry, I won't _stalk_ you or something, I'm not a creep..."

As if she was stung by a bee, Sasha flinched. Suddenly, she felt flustered, and her face turned red. It was 80 degrees out, but she shivered. She backed away slightly, and sat down on a bench. Silently, tears began slowly rolling down her cheeks as she hugged herself.

"Hey, wait, did I say something?" said Sam.

Abigail glared at Sam and put her arm around Sasha.

"Hey, Sasha, is something wrong? We're here for you." said Abigail.

Sebastian stayed silent, but his face gained a worried expression.

"N-no…" said Sasha. "Y-you didn't say anything. I think I need to explain…"


	6. Chapter 6 - Why

Chapter 6

JUST TO CLARIFY: THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER IS FROM SASHA'S PERSPECTIVE, WHICH SHE IS NOW EXPLAINING TO SAM, SEBASTIAN AND ABIGAIL.

Ok, that was all… Enjoy! ❤

S-so, I obviously didn't just f-fall out of the sky to come here. I lived in the city. I did truly hate my job, but one thing drove me over the f-fucking edge.

I worked at Joja Co., doing meaningless, boring work, and I got bad pay. I had inherited the farm from my grandfather, but I chose to stay in the city, god knows why. Since I moved out from my parents' house, everything was normal, but after a while I noticed that someone was actually…s-s….

Sasha choked up and more tears fell, but when Abigail offered her a tissue, she politely declined.

S-someone had been tracking me and stalking me. I didn't have any privacy from that point on. All of my social media was being tracked by this…guy. I don't even know him, or his problem, but it terrified me. I saw him everywhere. Coffee shops, stores, on the subway, everywhere. S-sometimes, he would walk behind me on my way home or to work. My parents even bought me a new phone, and they helped me set up cameras, but it got worse and worse. I sold my home computer, but that didn't help. For all I know, he could know that I live here, but I haven't seen him in two weeks, which has really helped me become less afraid, but I can't risk a phone right now. The only reason that he still scares me, is that he started threatening me.

He started sending my family hate mail, murder threats, and he would send me photos of him with a gun, but I never had a face to turn into the police. At one point, I locked my apartment door, barred my windows and just stayed inside. For a week.

I shut down.

Then, he would send me photos of myself. L-like me walking down the street, or me drinking coffee, but if I looked up, coffee cup in hand, he wouldn't be there. I literally was under a camera all day.

If this wasn't enough, you haven't heard what made me leave.

I got a photo…of a girl, but, she was mauled, and completely bloody. It was like mutilated and disgusting. I don't know who did that to that girl, and if it was even real, but the caption read;

"Soon, that'll be you. Your grandfather made a fatal mistake."


	7. Chapter 7 - A Night Over

Chapter 7

"Oh my god. Sasha, I'm so sorry…" said Abigail. She covered her mouth with her hands.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have triggered that." said Sam. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Are you okay?" said Sebastian quietly.

Sasha nodded, and wiped her face. She cleared her throat and looked up before standing up and fixing her hair.

"N-no." she said. "It's okay, really. I know you guys didn't know anything about it. L-let's forget about it, okay? I want to enjoy the egg hunt with you guys."

She smiled and beckoned the three, and then walked over to the center. When she got to the middle, everyone was loud and excited. As if it were magic, the group who had the conversation forgot about it all, and enjoyed the time they spent together hunting for eggs. Sasha ended up winning, and Lewis gave her a big brimmed straw hat.

As the four were just leaving the festival, they began to talk.

"Hey, good job Farmer!" said Sam. "That hat looks cute on you. But I'm totally disappointed that I didn't win. My egg hunting skills need to be touched up." He pouted and began to fake cry. Sasha laughed and Abigail shoved him.

"Hey! Sam." said Abigail. "I swear you get " _douchebag-ier"_ everyday." She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Ok, well anyway, I turn off here." said Sam. "Goodnight you guys- wait. Abby, don't you turn off here too?" he winked and nodded his head towards Sebastian and Sasha.

"Huh…? OH! Yeah! I do!" she replied. "Bye you guys! Sleep well!"

Sebastian glared at them both, and Sasha was confused by their sudden change in tone.

Before either of them could say "Wait", Abigail and Sam ran off, practically skipping, and left Sasha and Sebastian alone.

"Hey, so,I noticed you didn't do the egg hunt Sebastian, Why is that?" said Sasha.

"Oh, um, I don't really have a child side in me when it comes to that sort of thing I guess. I never had. Even as a kid." He replied.

"Aw, that's too bad. But, I'm SURE that I can bring that out in you. Come on!" she said.

Sasha grabbed Sebastian's wrist and started running towards her house. When they got there, she opened up the door to her home.

Sebastian couldn't help but admire how nice it looked now. It was neatly unpacked, with a fully stocked kitchen in the corner. She had a fireplace in the middle of the cabinets, and a table and chairs in the middle of the kitchen as well. A small radio and a plush couch stood in the middle of the living room. Her dog slept on the matching carpet in the middle. There was a hallway that led to her bedroom, which was fully decorated with different video game posters. She had a few different gaming consoles, and a bookshelf filled with games and comics.

"Whoa!" said Sebastian, his eyes glistening "You have everything! Some of these are even limited edition!"

"See? I knew I would bring the child out in you." said Sasha.

"Can we play?" said Sebastian. He pouted and made puppy eyes.

"Wait, this isn't even all of it." She replied. She beckoned him to follow her.

Sasha led him back through the living room and up some stairs. When she opened the door, Sebastian could not believe his eyes. Every video game that he'd ever wanted, all the collectibles, all the consoles, literally every type of video game or board game that he ever liked was in this room. On the floor, there were two enormous beanbag chairs and a high-def platinum screen TV, with about 8 or 9 consoles connected.

"Make yourself comfy, and choose something to play." she said. "I'll be back in a minute."

Sebastian took off his hoodie, and slipped off his shoes. He went to sat on the beanbag and immediately loosened up.

"This will be so fun." He thought. "She's actually super cool."

Sasha walked into the room, with a tray in her hands. She had changed into a white T-Shirt and black leggings. She also wore a pair of fuzzy black socks. She tossed Sebastian a pair too.

"Put them on! They are perfect for gaming." She said.

On the tray, there were two mugs of hot cocoa and a big plate of fat chocolate chip cookies.

"I made the cookies earlier. I bought the sugar and chocolate from the store, but the eggs and flour are homemade!" she said, grinning proudly. "What did you choose?" She placed the tray in between them.

"Oh, this." He handed her a copy of a new fighting game.

"Yes! I've wanted to play SSB since I got it, but haven't had the chance." She said.

She turned the TV on and handed Sebastian a controller. As the game booted up, they gave each other a devilish grin.

"Get ready for your ass to be kicked, Seb." said Sasha, grinning.

"Oh _hell_ no." said Sebastian. "You're on."

They played for several hours into the night. At 3am, when the cookies were gone, and the cocoa finished, Sebastian had fallen asleep in the bean bag. Sasha was too tired to send him home, and she assumed he would be tired too, so she grabbed a blanket from the cupboard and draped it over him.

"He looks too cute all cuddled up..." She thought. " **No** Sasha. He doesn't like you. Get that out of your head."

Since she had the next day off, she decided to sleep in her bean bag too, eventually drifting off into the warmth and comfort of the fur.

When Sebastian woke up the next day, he realized that he had slept over, and decided that it was totally the best sleepover he ever had, which was comparable to when he would stay at Abigail's house and paint her nails.

He looked over and saw Sasha, fast asleep.

"She looks so cute..." he thought. "Ugh. Sebastian, c'mon, remember your crap relationship with Abby?…but, maybe she will be differe- No. I can't do that again. It hurts but I can't."

He glanced at the cat clock on the wall. 5am. He decided to sleep more, and he would leave later.

When he woke up later, at 9am, Sasha wasn't there. He padded downstairs still in his fuzzy socks, and saw orange juice and a muffin sitting on the table. There was a note that read;

 _Hey, good morning! I'm out in the chicken coop. I left breakfast for you on the table. You can stop by, but I'll probably smell like chickens, so you might not want to... See you later!_

 _-Sasha_

 _(P.S. you can keep the socks.)_

Sebastian smiled and ate the muffin. Then put on his shoes and hoodie. As he left the house, he looked for Sasha briefly, but decided to let her work. As he was walking home, he couldn't help but feel happy. He had spent the night at his friends place playing great video games. What more could a guy want? But there was something bugging him. He felt…different around her. Like himself. He knew he couldn't help falling for her. And after hearing her story, he wanted nothing more than to protect her. But it was the wrong thing. He couldn't. Not after Abby. Abby tore him apart.

And his feelings for Sasha were now tearing him apart too.


	8. Chapter 8 - A Building and a Tower

Chapter 8

It had been a week since Sebastian stayed over that night. They had been close friends ever since. They hung out often, and he even stayed over a few more nights, but it made his feelings for her grow more. The flower dance was coming up, but Sebastian knew he couldn't ask her to dance. It would crush him if she said no.

Sasha had now grown her farm quite considerably. Demetrius and Maru helped her set up a sprinkler system, so she wouldn't have to water her plants, and Pierre was helping her prepare her seeds for the summer.

She was really starting to feel like a farmer now. She was prepared for the summer, and she had grown strong from the work that she was doing on the farm. When she got home, she noticed a letter on her porch.

 _"Meet me at the brown building above the town."_

 _Lewis_

"Hm?" She thought. Sasha checked her map and noticed a building labeled "Community Center".

When she arrived, Lewis was standing in front of the door, and seemed to be unlocking the door.

"Oh, Hello Sasha!" said Lewis. "I wanted to show you this old building. It's called the community center. It used to be bustling with life and energy, but now, it hasn't been taken care of, and Joja Co. is making a petition to tear it down."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." said Sasha.

As Lewis unlocked the door, Sasha was flooded with old memories. She remembered the community center. She went there as a child. The building that was once filled with love and life, was now old, and falling apart. Every room was destroyed, and there was even a small grass hut in the corner. Lewis stated his assumption that it was the work of Vincent and Abigail.

Lewis glanced at his watch.

"Oh dear, I must be going, but you can have the key. I don't need it now. Just make sure you lock up!"

After Lewis had left, Sasha went over to investigate the hut. It was small, but sturdy. Leaves for a roof, stones on the side…

"Hmm. Who made this? It's odd, but it looks like it was built wel-"

 _"Tink!"_

Sasha flinched and turned around. Nothing was there.

"This place is creeping me out. I'm gonna leave." She thought.

 _"Tink!"_

"Is someone pranking me? She called.

Silence.

Sasha hurried towards the door.

 _"Tink!"_

"Leave me alone!" she shouted.

Sasha burst out of the place, practically jogging home. When she got home, she found a note on her doorstep.

 _"Go to the tower."_

"Tower?" she thought. "What is going on? This note isn't addressed, and I don't even know where a tower is!"

Sasha took out her worn map, and looked, until she noticed a small building in the corner of the map. It was labeled _"Wizard's Tower."_

"Okay, well that explains a _little._ " She thought.

It took Sasha over an hour to find the tour, but when she did, it looked dusty and overgrown. She walked up the cracked steps and knocked on the door. Forcefully, a gust opened the door and dragged her inside.

"H-hello?" called Sasha.

An old man with a long beard walked out. In Sasha's mind, he was literally the definition of Wizard. He wore a purple pointed Wizard's Hat, and a long matching purple robe, embellished with crescent moons and stars. He snapped his fingers, and the room lit up.

"Welcome!" said the Wizard. His voice was deep and crackly, but it seemed familiar. "My, you've grown so much dear Sasha!"

"How do you know me?" said Sasha.

"Oh, do you not remember me?" he replied. The Wizard waved his hand in Sasha's direction, and suddenly, she remembered meeting him on the farm long ago.

"I was a friend of your grandfather's. It's a shame that he's gone now, but I helped him out, and in a few years, maybe you will see how. Anyway, I saw that you had entered the community center, and since you are one of the few that can hear the Junimos, I brought you here."

"Junimos?" she asked.

"Oh, right, you probably don't remember them. A Junimo is a small, magical, apple shaped creature that comes in many different colors. They are kind, but only a few people know of them, and even fewer can hear and see them." He replied.

"Wait, I saw a blue dot in the bushes a few days ago…" said Sasha.

"That's great! That was most likely a Junimo." He replied.

"But, I went to investigate, and there was a note." said Sasha. She retrieved a small strip of paper, still with the scribbled written on it. "I can't read it, and any time they "Speak", I can't understand them.

The wizard took the note, handed it back to Sasha, and without saying anything, walked over to his cauldron. He tossed a few plants in, and then gestured for Sasha to come over.

"Sasha, this is more urgent than I thought. Drink this. Please. They need you." said the Wizard. There was a sort of harshness in his voice that told her that he wasn't messing around.

Sasha grabbed a bowl from a nearby table, and dipped it into the cauldron. She took a huge gulp, and then passed out. When she finally woke, the Wizard was standing there holding the note. Without saying anything, Sasha took the note, _read it,_ and ran out of the tower. She knew what she needed to do.

Sasha ran all the way to the community center, and a few people even tried to talk to her, but she didn't stop. She fumbled with the key, and entered the building, where she saw 3 "Junimos" sitting on the floor. It was like they were waiting. Later that night, Sasha emerged from the building. She had a list of objects that they needed. It was a lot, and it would take months to get everything, but she knew what would happen if they didn't get everything and Joja Co. took over their sanctuary.

Now, she was the person that they depended on.


	9. Chapter 9 - That explains a lot

Chapter 9

 _Meanwhile, as Sasha is entering the community center…_

During the whole walk home, Sebastian could not stop thinking about Sasha. She was awesome. They had the same interests, they had the same sort of personality, etc. When he arrived at his home, Robin wasn't at the counter, but when he got to his room downstairs, Sam and Abigail were waiting. They both had big smiles on their faces.

"Hey there fella!" said Sam, looking Sebastian up and down. "I see you're wearing the same clothes that you were last night… did somebody get lucky?" He walked up to Sebastian and patted his back.

"Oh fuck off Sam. We didn't hook up. We actually had a great night together. We hung out and played video games all night." said Sebastian.

"Yes! I ship you two so hard." said Abigail. "You two are literally my OTP right now. Sebasha? Sabastian? Anyway, I've gotta go, I'm helping Clint in the shop, but tell me more later Sebby, Okay? Bye!"

Abigail waved and left the room.

"So dude, why don't you ask her out?" whispered Sam. Sebastian stayed quiet for a while before answering.

"You know I can't. After what happened with Abby, I'm too fragile to be hurt that way…again." said Sebastian.

"Seriously Seb? You're so dumb. She really likes you if she cared enough to have you over. She's super sweet, and you're just going to let that go? You need to get over Abby. She got over you." said Sam.

" _She_ broke up with _me_ dumbass. I was crushed for nearly a year, and it took forever for us to repair that friendship. I can't risk it." said Sebastian. He looked sad, but he knew what would happen if she didn't return his feelings.

Sam sighed.

"Fine. But if you don't ask her out by the flower dance, _I_ will, and then you'll have to pay for your mistake. She's cute, and sweet. If you don't like that, then you are going to regret it. If you don't date her soon, someone will. There are plenty of single guys here that could totally approach her." said Sam.

Sam knew that this made Sebastian angry, but there wasn't enough time. Sebastian was too socially awkward, and it would take him weeks to get the speech and courage, so he stayed sullen in his misery.

 _FAST FORWARD TO THE FLOWER DANCE_

Sam and Sebastian waited for hours, but Sasha never arrived, and Lewis ultimately decided to allow the dance to commence. The next day Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail knocked on her door. Sasha answered, but her hair was slightly ruffled and her nose was pink.

"Oh, hey guys." said Sasha. Her voice was nasal, and she was wrapped in a blanket that trailed behind her.

"Hi Sasha! We wanted to ask why you didn't come to the dance, but I guess you were sick." said Abigail.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I really wanted to go, but I caught something, and I didn't want to get everyone sick." said Sasha.

"Oh that's fine. Don't worry about it." said Sam.

"Sorry to do this, but I'm really tired. I would normally invite you guys in but…" said Sasha.

"No worries! We can all hang out another time. Get well soon Sasha!" said Abigail.

Sasha waved and closed the door.

"Damn! I wanted that dare to work out!" said Sam.

"What dare?" said Abigail.

"Oh, well me and Sebby here-"said Sam.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." said Sebastian.

The three walked to each of their respective houses, but when Sebastian got home, he went to the kitchen. Robin was sitting on a chair next to the dining table reading a magazine.

"Looking for food Sweetie?" she said.

"No. Um, Mom?" said Sebastian. "Can you teach me how to make soup? You know, the one you make when me or Maru are sick?"

"Uh huh… but why?" said Robin.

"Oh, well, Sasha is sick, and I think she should try some of your soup." he replied.

Robin smiled and nodded. They proceeded to make the soup. It was an easy tomato soup, but it was a comfort food, and always made people feel better. Robin couldn't help but be glad that Sebastian cared for his friend. She always thought that they would make a good couple.

They packaged the soup into a warm container, and Sebastian put it in the chest of his motorcycle. He drove his motorcycle to Sasha's house, and brought the soup up to her door. He knocked gently and Sasha answered again, but she was surprised to see Sebastian standing there.

"Hey." he said. "I figured that since you had taken care of me so nicely that one night, and since you are sick, I should return the favor." He smiled and stepped in.

Sasha looked surprised, but was happy to see him, and was too weak to decline.

Sebastian grabbed a bowl and some bread from her cupboard, and put everything on a tray. Sasha graciously ate the soup, which was creamy and light. She loved being taken care of, which hadn't happened since she left her parents house to move into an apartment in the city. Sebastian helped her into her bed, and since he was good with electronics, he set up the plasma screen TV in her bedroom.

"What do you want to watch?" he asked. She shrugged in reply and said: "I don't know. Pick whatever you want."

He ended up choosing a comedy, because he thought she could use some cheering up. He sat in the chair, and catered to Sasha. He gave her medicine and tissues when she needed them, but ended up falling asleep. It was nearly 9pm, so he turned off the TV, washed the dishes and made sure she was comfortable. As he was putting another blanket over her, she whispered: "Thank you Seb."

He smiled and said "You're welcome." before locking the door and riding off.

The next day, Sasha felt much better, and slipped a thank you card under his door. It was a good day for both of them.

Even though she was over the moon about Sebastian, she knew that she had to focus on the task at hand. She had been farming all day, so she had already finished the spring bundle, and was working on getting the perfect fruits, and she was planning on going to the cave so that she could get the materials for another. Tomorrow was Friday, but since she had plans with Sam, Abby and Seb, she decided to go on Saturday.

When Sasha arrived at the Saloon, she saw the three standing by the pool table, but instead of pool, Sam was sitting at the Junimo Kart game, and Abigail was yelling at him because he kept falling. Sebastian waved, but Sam was too distracted, and looked like he was nearly in tears, and Abigail was red from yelling so much.

"Hey gu-" said Sasha.

"FUCK!" said Abigail before she could finish.

"Ugh Abigail stop yellin- wait, hey Sasha!" said Sam

"Sam you're an idiot, how can you possibly be that bad at Junimo Kart?!" Abigail shook her head. "Anyway, hey Sasha! Feeling better?"

"Yeah, much actually! I think I'm gonna go to the cave tomorrow. I met someone near there while fishing named Marlon, and after I talked to him, he said that he can show me around and give me a sword to go explore!" said Sasha.

The three went wide eyed.  
"Really?" said Sam "That's so brave! It's dangerous down there."

"Yeah, but that's super cool! Good luck with that! Hey, if you find an Amethyst, do you mind showing it to me? They're my absolute favorite." said Abigail.

"Wow, that's pretty epic. Just like Link!" said Sebastian.

"Yeah, I'm super excited. But I've gotta cook a bunch, and stock up on food so that I'm prepared." said Sasha.

Through the night, the four of them talked about the cave and what she might find. It was a big moment for her, and Sasha was super excited.

As the Saloon emptied out, they waved and wished Sasha good luck. Before Sebastian could leave however, Sasha stopped him.

"Hey, Sebastian?" she said. "Would you like to have dinner at my place tomorrow? I wanna show you everything that I find, and I'll totally tell you dungeon stories!"

Their hearts were racing. Sebastian was surprised by her gesture.

"Uh, Sure. T-that sounds fun." he replied.

"Great! What time can you come over?" she asked.

"Well, when will you be back from exploring?" he replied.

"Probably around 5. How about 6? Then I can clean up and won't be all musty and gross." she said.

He smiled and nodded before she walked off. They waved and then she walked into the forest.

Simultaneously, they were thinking "A Date!," but at the same time, they were thinking "But they don't like me that way. I shouldn't get my hopes up."

They would just have to wait and see.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Mines

Chapter 10

Sasha had woken up full of energy. She was so excited to be able to explore the cave. She now was a _true_ adventurer. Like in so many video games, and she had to admit to herself that the whole concept was pretty badass. She packed her pickaxe, a shovel, a torch and some snacks. She wasn't sure what she would find, but she wanted to keep her inventory empty so that she could pick up lots of stuff.

When Sasha arrived at the entrance to the cave, she couldn't help but feel a little terrified. She didn't know what awaited her. When she entered, she lit her torch and saw Marlon standing by what looked like an old elevator.

"Hey! Welcome to the Mines! Before I begin, take this." said Marlon.

He handed her a chipped sword that looked quite old. The handle was carved of wood, but she held it comfortably. She had sewn a small slip to her bag to hold the sword, and Marlon taught her how to quickly take it out and put it away.

"You'll definitely need it." he said.

Marlon explained the different types of creatures that she might find, the elevator system, and how the mine changes the lower that you travel. He took her down the ladder, and explained that to get the elevator to work for every 10 floors, she would have to get to the bottom and start up the crank to get the gears running. Then, he wished her good luck and climbed back up the ladder. Finally, Sasha felt like a true explorer.

The mines smelled old and musty, and everything was covered in dust or dirt. The first level was free of creatures, but when she found the ladder to the second level, she wasn't so lucky.

"AHH!" she screamed.

A giant bug flew by her head before circling and flying back. Sasha quickly drew her sword and killed the mangy thing, and it dropped some guts. Appalled but curious, she picked them up. She found and mined several rocks, and even found an amethyst for Abigail. It was strange, but she found the system quite soothing. Eventually, she found the 10th floor, and even a chest. That was where she got her first pair of boots. She slipped off her old sneakers before she cranked the gears up and the elevator started to rumble. Before she knew it, the elevator was working. It was only 3 pm.

 _"Hmm."_ she thought. _"I have 3 hours before my date-erm, dinner with Sebastian. I can do another 10 levels."_

She was _almost_ wrong. She was exhausted by the time she got to the 15th, and her back was aching from already carrying a ton of loot, but she decided to push through so that she could continue from the 20th level later on. She was attacked by slimy balls, a Diglet looking thing, a crab, and a few more bugs. Eventually, she got to the 20th floor, where she found a beautifully polished steel dagger. She was too tired to go on, so she cranked the handle and the elevator came down. She pushed the top button weakly, and stumbled out of the shaft. By the time she got home, it was 5:10, so she had time to shower and change. She put on her favorite shirt and leggings and tied a blue and green shirt around her waist. Her shoes were dirty so she just wore white socks. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard, so she tied her hair up into a ponytail. She made a simple Sashimi using fresh salmon that she had caught earlier. She also fried some egg rolls and put some wine on the table. Everything was homemade, and she was proud of her cooking. She just hoped that he liked seafood.

Just as she was setting the table on the porch, she heard the motorcycle rumble. As he approached, she waved, and then he swiftly parked next to her selling chest. He slipped his helmet and biker jacket off, and was also wearing a casual outfit. Sasha was relieved. His hair was slightly ruffled, but she thought it looked cute.

"Hey Seb!" she shouted. He looked up in response and waved back.

He walked over to the porch.

"Hey!" he said.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll grab the food, and then I will tell you about my adventures in the mines." she replied.

As she stepped out with the plate of Sashimi, his eyes widened, but her heart sunk.

"Oh, do you not like seafood?" she said. _"Shit. Good job Sasha. You blew it."_ she thought.

"Oh, no its not that. I love Sashimi! It's actually one of my favorites! How did you have time to make this?" he exclaimed. Sasha smiled.

"Honestly it wasn't too difficult. I caught the fish just before you got here. In fact, if you want, I can teach you how to make it." she said.

After Sebastian bit into the Sashimi, he had the biggest grin. The Sashimi rice was flavorful and perfectly soft, and the Salmon was fresh and delicious. The egg rolls were great too. They had a crispy and crunchy outer layer, and the filling was fresh and seasoned perfectly. The wine was a cherry wine. She just had finished bottling a cask a few days prior, and they both liked it, which ended up in their finishing a bottle.

"So, how were the mines?" he asked. He was actually pretty interested in her expedition. He played games where you would do similar things, and here Sasha was; A real life adventurer.

"Well, I got the coolest sword, and a ton of gems! Wait, I'll go get everything I found." she said.

She stood up and went into the house to retrieve her backpack, and came out with her hand stuck in, looking for the amethyst. She cleared the empty plates and glasses, and then laid out some rocks on the table.

She had found tons of copper ores, a few geodes that she needed Clint to open, and she had found 2 Amethyst, but the real treasure was a massive quartz that she had found on the 19th floor. It had hundreds of small crystal formations, and was a milky white color. Sebastian held and admired the structure. It cast hundreds of rainbows on the ground and walls when held up to the light. When he gave it back to her she took it inside and a short while later she returned with it wrapped in a thick cloth. She pressed the rock into his hands.

"Huh? Why are you giving this to me?" he said. He tried to hand it back, but she refused.

"You can have it." she said. "You seem to really like it." she smiled and winked.

"Wow. I-I don't know what to say. This is an incredible gift." said Sebastian.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure I'll find other cool things too. I've heard about Frozen Tea-"

Before Sasha could finish, Sebastian put the stone down and pulled her into a hug. There was a silence for some time, but it wasn't awkward. After a moment, he released her from the hug, and smiled.

"Thank you, so much." he said.


	11. Chapter 11 - A Cheese and some Jellies

Chapter 11

A few weeks had passed since Sasha had first explored the cave and her dinner with Sebastian. It was now customary for the two to get together after she had explored the cave and eat Sashimi while looking through her findings. It was now late summer, and the Luau was about to start. Sasha decided to bring a giant wheel of cheese to the Luau. She had trouble with it at the beginning, but with Epona (her recently adopted horse), she had no problem. She wore shorts and a T-Shirt over her swimming costume, which she had chosen to wear because Sam, Abigail and Sebastian were wearing theirs. She also wore the wide brimmed hat she had won during the egg hunt, which looked beautiful with her long, flowing brown hair.

When Sasha arrived at the Luau, Marnie was standing over a behemoth of a pot in the center. There were mountains of food on the tables. Alex, who was eager to show off in front of Haley, _insisted_ on carrying the cheese over, but nearly toppled over when he picked it up at first. Sasha took Epona over to the shade in the trees and allowed her to settle in before walking over and tying a long rope to a nearby post.

Sasha spotted the three in a slightly secluded spot near the water, where Abigail and Sam were splashing each other with water, and Sebastian was sitting on a towel. Abigail was wearing a purple and green one piece that matched her hair, Sam was wearing neon pink swimming trunks, and Sebastian was wearing all black swimming trunks. Abigail waved and ran out of the water to greet Sasha with a hug. Sam began to walk out, but stopped and shrieked as a tiny crab crawled on his foot.

"Hey Sasha!" said Abigail.

"Hey." said Sebastian.

"Hi guys! How is the Luau so far?" said Sasha. "It's my first, so it'd better be a good one!"

"Well, the water is great, you should join us!" said Abigail. "Maybe you can convince Sebby to come in too, but I don't think he wants to be drowned in water by Sam."

It was at this moment that Sam threw a wet ball of sand on Abigail's back. She slowly turned around, and charged at Sam. They both dove into the water. Sasha giggled and Sebastian laughed.

"Well, I'll take these clothes off. I don't want to get them wet, so I'll go and put them by Epona. I'll be right back." said Sasha.

As she walked back she thought about how good Sebastian looked. He was actually pretty fit and tan; Not as pale as you'd expect from someone who works with computers and spends his life in a sweatshirt.

As Sasha returned, Sebastian thought the same of her. She had grown toned and slender from working on the farm, and ironically, she didn't have a farmer's tan. Even Alex stared a bit, but Haley slapped him on the back of his head before he could head over to her.

 _"God, she looks gorgeous."_ he thought. Sasha laid a towel next to him, and sat down.

"Hey," she said. "I went another 10 floors down into the mines yesterday, because I couldn't help myself, but look at this!"

She was holding a small cloth bag, and inside were 3 round, blue rocks.

"Gunther said that they are frozen tears. Cool right?" she said.

"Woah…" he said. "I have to admit, these are actually my favorite type of stone. My father, my _REAL_ father gave me one when I was little. It meant the world to me. I still have it in my room."

"Hmm." said Sasha. "Come with me."

She tied the bag around her wrist and took off her hat. Then she walked over to the pier. He followed. Suddenly, she jumped in and surfaced, and Sebastian jumped in too. They swam to a large rock that wasn't far from shore. They climbed onto the rock, and walked onto a small flat surface. When they sat, their view of the beach was obstructed, but they could still hear everyone in the distance. It was peaceful.

"Sebastian. You are my closest friend right now, and if anything is bothering you, especially your family, we can come and talk here. Okay? I want you to trust me." said Sasha. She had a gentle tone in her voice.

Suddenly, Sebastian started crying. Not sobbing, but crying softly. Sasha pulled him into a hug. She knew that he was just missing his dad, but it was hard to see him cry. She wanted to kiss him so badly, it hurt.

She handed him the bag. "I know these are your favorites. I've seen that one from your dad. I just wanted to give them to you privately." she said.

Music started playing. The Luau was going to end in a little bit.

She used the cloth to wipe his tears. She gave him one last hug, and said "Let's go. I think they're waiting for us."

They dove into the water and arrived at the beach just in time for the soup tasting. Everyone loved it, and the Luau came to an end once the pot was empty and the sun had set. Sebastian couldn't keep his eyes off of Sasha for the rest of the night.

* * *

Before they knew it, the weeks had passed. Sasha was on the fast track to completing a few more bundles. She had already finished the all the spring and summer bundles, the construction bundle, a few of the fishing bundles and the animal bundle. Tonight was the dance of the moonlight jellies. Sasha, Sebastian, Sam and Abigail were busy all day preparing a picnic for the night, and had planned on staying all day camping on the beach in celebration of a good summer. They had all the stocks; sandwiches, chips, cookies, soda, candy, and other snacks.

The beach was empty when they arrived, but as the sky grew dark it filled up. They set up tents on the beach and a blanket on the pier.

"Alright everyone, we are going to launch the boat!" said Lewis. There was a small cheer from the crowd. "Oh, and Sasha, welcome to your first Jelly festival!" Everyone cheered again.

The small boat floated along the water gently. A breeze swept through the air, pushing it further.

As if from nowhere, jellyfish started getting closer. They were seemingly everywhere. It was a beautiful sight. Most of them were blue, but as Sasha noticed a smaller, oddly shaped green one, she began to feel a personal connection with it. As time passed, more arrived, and many left, but they remained peaceful as they said hello to the villagers. It was getting late, and cold. Sasha absent-mindedly rested her head on Sebastian's shoulder and closed her eyes. She shivered, but said nothing.

"Hey sleepyhead, are you getting cold?" said Sebastian.

Sam and Abigail gave each other a silent high five and began quietly giggling uncontrollably, but all Sebastian could do without moving Sasha, was glare. Sasha groggily scooted closer and shivered again. Sebastian put his arm around her, and Sam stood up to drape a blanket around the two.

"We did it!" whispered Sam.

"Yes!" whispered Abigail.

Sebastian glared again, but smiled to himself. He was actually glad that they cared.

At this point, Sasha was softly sleeping on his shoulder. As the jellyfish faded away and the crowd thinned out, the happier Sam and Abigail grew, and Sebastian realized more and more how much he cared for Sasha. Finally, everyone had left, and the four were left on their own. Sebastian gently set Sasha down and wrapped her in a blanket. He didn't want to leave her there, and Sam and Abigail were hysterical, so they weren't much help. On their way back to the tents, Sasha woke up, insisting that she could walk on her own. When they arrived back, there were only 3 tents, when there had previously been 4, and Sebastian sighed and crossed his arms, glaring at Sam and Abigail.

"Oh no!" said Sam. "What ever will we do? There aren't enough tents for all of us!" He pretended to look shocked, and even though he was very obviously faking it, Sasha was still groggy to notice.

She stretched and shook her head, confused by the commotion.

"What happened?" she said.

"I think one of our tents blew away." said Abigail. "Sam forgot to nail his into the sand."

"Yup. For sure!" said Sam. "Can I borrow yours Seb? Pretty please?"

"No. You can sleep outside." said Sebastian. Sasha giggled.

"Rude! You know how cold I can get!" said Sam, pouting. "I'm _dainty_!"

"Fine, jackass, i'll sleep outside." said Sebastian.

"But wait!" said Abigail. "Why don't you and Sasha share a tent Sebby?"

"What a MARVELOUS idea Abigail!" said Sam. They both looked at each other, trying not to laugh.

Sasha shook her head.

"That's not necessary. Seb can have my tent. I'll walk home. I don't want to make him uncomfortable. My house is the closest anyway." Everyone knew this wasn't true, but she shrugged it off and started heading towards the path.

"Sasha, wait!" said Sebastian. He ran towards her, flipping off Sam and Abigail on the way.

"Huh?" she whispered. "Its okay, I really don't mind." She yawned again.

"No, you're tired and in no state to walk home. You'll collapse before you get there!" he gave her a worried expression as he whispered. "It's fine. I don't mind sharing. I brought extra blankets and everything, so we should be fine."

"Are you sure?" she said. "I can really go."

"Positive. Let's go." he said.

As they walked back, Sam and Abigail gave each other a secret high five, but something was bugging Abigail deep inside. She shook it off, hoping it wouldn't get worse.

Sebastian and Sasha climbed into the tent. They were both thankful that they weren't awkward around each other, and fell asleep surprisingly easily. It wasn't until halfway through the night when Sebastian woke to something clutching his waist. Sasha had her arms wrapped around his torso, and her head was resting on his shoulder.

 _"Oh my god."_ thought Sebastian. _"I think i'm going to puke."_

He rested his hand on Sasha's back gently, cautious not to wake her, but she smiled and nuzzled her face into his chest.

Sebastian felt himself blushing, and he could feel every curve of Sasha's body up against his. It drove him crazy, and he could feel himself getting turned on. He was never more thankful that she was asleep. Eventually the rush fell, and he gently pulled her closer to him, wrapping both of his arms around her in a hug.

It wasn't long before he drifted into the best night of sleep he'd ever had.


	12. Chapter 12 - Dad's Birthday

Chapter 12

The next day, Sasha woke up feeling refreshed, despite being in her clothes from last night. It wasn't long before she realized who was lying next to him, and almost screamed. She sat up and admired his peaceful expression, her heart lurching at the sight of him breathing. She unzipped the tent, peering out into a cloudy grey sky. She sighed and gently shook Sebastian awake. He yawned and smiled.

"Hey, good morning." he said gently.

"Good morning." she said back, smiling. "I hate to interrupt, but the sky is getting grey, I think it's going to rain soon."

"Shit, really? We should go wake up Sam and Abigail."

They exited the tent, but Sam and Abigail's tents were gone.

As they began packing up, water began to drip from the sky. Just as the first few drops fell, Sebastian's eyes widened.

"No..." he whispered. "It can't be today, is it?!"

He looked around frantically for his watch, sighing at the face.

"Are you okay Seb?" said Sasha worriedly.

"I need to go." he said, and with that, he ran towards the town.

Sasha headed home with the tent, slung over her shoulder. Just as she got in, thunder boomed in the sky. She looked out the window, worried about Sebastian.

And then, she decided to go look for him.

She grabbed her jacket and stuffed her feet in some boots. Robin didn't know where Sebastian was, suggesting that he might've gone back down to the beach, so she headed down in a panic, calling his name along the way. When she arrived there, she spotted a black figure sitting on the edge of the pier.

"Hello?" she called out. Silence.

She walked towards the figure, and recognized Sebastian's sweatshirt. She was about to call out again, but noticed he was crying. She slowly walked up to him, careful not to slip, and he seemed to notice, but not care that she was there with him.

"Sebastian, are you Okay?" she asked. She was getting worried. He shook his head and mumbled:

"Today is my Dad's birthday."

She walked up and sat across from him on the pier.

"All I want to do is call him." he said. "But…I can't. He's gone now. It's too late."

Sasha sat there quietly. She knew how hard it was for him. It began to pour harder now. Sebastian sniffed and looked up. He held the umbrella up and said:

"H-here. I don't want you getting t-too wet."

Sasha scooted closer to him. They were both under the umbrella now.

Sebastian dropped his hand. He began softly crying again. Sasha took his hand and held it. She didn't need to say anything, but he felt better. She leaned on his shoulder.

"T-thank you for b-being here." he said. The rain slowed and trickled. Sasha stood up and helped Sebastian up. They held hands as they walked back to her house. When they entered, it was warm, and comfortable. She pulled out a chair for him, and helped him down. Sasha helped him change out of his wet jacket and shoes. He had been sitting there for a while, and was freezing cold. She gave him a towel and helped him dry off, and then handed him a mug of hot chocolate. Sasha sat down next to him and rubbed his shoulders gently.

"S-sorry… I didn't mean for anyone to see that. It's just been hard for me without my dad. Demetrius is getting on my nerves especially." said Sebastian.

"It's okay Seb. You don't deserve this." Sasha replied.

After Sebastian had dried off, they booted up the console and played until they both felt better.

* * *

It was now two weeks into Fall. Sasha was preparing a bundle for the Festival when she heard a knock on her door. She had invited Abigail, Sam and Sebastian over to hang out. When she opened the door, she was greeted with smiles.

"Hey Farmer!" said Sam.

"Hey you guys!" said Sasha.

"What's up?" said Abigail. "Y'know, how has the fall season been?"

"Oh, pretty great. Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons because they have perfect weather. I also love the crops that I can grow." said Sasha.

"Cool. Any plans for later on?" said Sebastian.

"Oh! Well actually, on the 18th after the Fair, I plan on heading to the 120th floor in the mines! It's crazy that I've been able to get there, and it will be super dangerous, but I think I'm prepared." she replied.

Sasha was excited. It was one of the biggest things she would ever accomplish. Sebastian on the other hand was nervous. He knew how dangerous it was, and didn't want her getting hurt. Plus, he had a plan…


	13. Chapter 13 - Preparation

Chapter 13

The Fair was wonderful. The music was great, and everyone had a lovely time. Before they knew it, it was over. Sasha, Sebastian, Abigail and Sam walked home together. They talked about her adventures, and planned a prep day on the 17th. It was going to be a big trip, so they all wanted to help her do it the best that she could.

When Sasha woke up on the 17th, she walked over to her door, where the three were waiting. They each had a bag, filled with stuff.

"Hey Farmer!" said Sam.

"Ready for your prep day?" exclaimed Abigail

Sasha Yawned. "Yup!" she said.

Abigail brought a pair of boots and materials to build stairs and ladders, Sam brought different clothes and some hunting tools, and Sebastian brought baking ingredients for snacks. As it turns out, Sebastian was actually a very good baker. Sasha blushed especially when he held her hands over the mixer. Abigail and Sam snuck glances over at each other the whole day.

When they finished up, and set everything out for the next day, they all headed up to her gaming room and played until 10 at night. Because Sasha only had 2 beanbags, they had to share, but they were all fine with that. Finally, they parted ways. Sebastian stayed behind to discuss their dinner plans.

"So, are we still gonna have dinner tomorrow night?" said Sasha.

"Yup!" said Sebastian. "Uh, Sasha?" his tone changed. He sounded serious.

"Yeah..?" she said.

"Please be safe. Don't get hurt." said Sebastian

"Oh." said Sasha. She was flattered that he was worried about her, and started to blush. "I will be. Thank you."

"In fact…" said Sebastian "Take this."

Sebastian handed her a small golden crane. Sasha didn't even have to ask what it was for. She knew it was special. She stepped towards him and hugged him. Sebastian held her tightly. He was terrified. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her. He was so tempted to tell her how he felt, but he didn't want to stop her from going. Eventually, they pulled apart. She didn't want to let go. She loved the way she felt when he held her. He wished her good luck again before walking into the dark forest. Sasha fell into a deep sleep shortly after he left. When she woke up the next morning, she was prepared. She strapped on her boots, climbed onto Epona and rode towards the cave. This was it.


	14. Chapter 14 - Journey

Chapter 14

When she arrived at the cave, Sasha was suddenly terrified. She had been in there plenty of times, but this time was different. She rode the elevator down to the 80th floor before it halted and broke, so she got off. She fought vigorously down another 20 floors, grateful for the items her friends had given her. She reached into her pocket and retrieved the crane, resting against a wall. She held it close and stood to attempt the rest. She fought, and finally, reached the final floor. She stepped towards the last chest, exhausted. It was glowing. When she opened the chest, there was a small key. It had a skull engraved onto it. She smiled, but her victory was short lived. The ground rumbled, and a creature emerged from the lava. It hissed at her. The eyes. They looked all too familiar. Sasha tried to fight it off, but after fighting to no avail, she knew she had to escape. The elevator had broken at the 80th floor, so she would get there and then figure out to make it work. Luckily, she had already killed the previous enemies, but the creature following her wouldn't give up. It hurled boulders at her, and Sasha only narrowly escaped its attacks. 100th. 90th. 80th. The elevator wouldn't work, and it was catching up to her. At some point, she had gashed her right ankle. She couldn't move, but forced herself up. She barely got to the 70th floor, where the elevator would work. She threw herself in, slammed the lever and the elevator lurched upwards. The creature disappeared into the lower floors. The eyes. They looked like they knew her. They looked like they hated her. She stumbled out of the cave, falling to the ground. Epona startled and ran.

"H-help…" muttered Sasha before fainting.

Sebastian was walking to the house. He had a bouquet, already nervous. He assumed that Sasha was home, but when Epona was charging towards him, he knew something wasn't right. In a rush, he dropped the bouquet and climbed onto Epona. It didn't matter that he had never ridden a horse before. He knew… _somehow_ , and charged into the forest. When he approached the river near the forest, he could see a light on the ground. It was her flashlight. He jumped off of Epona and ran towards the cave. Sasha was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"S-Sasha!" yelled Sebastian.

He reached her body. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Her body was limp and dirty, but she was breathing. He nudged her twice, but she wouldn't wake up. Her ankle looked like it was twisted. He stood up and ran all the way to the town. Abigail and Sam had noticed him running from the forest.

"Hey, what happened Seb?!" said Sam. They saw who he was carrying. Abigail put her hands over her mouth and started shaking as Sam wrapped himself around her.

Sebastian burst into the clinic. He was almost in tears.

"Please, Maru, Harvey, help!" he yelled.

"Oh my _god_!" said Maru.

Sebastian set Sasha down onto the table, and they wheeled her into the back. He wanted to go in, but they wouldn't let him. Abigail and Sam ran in. Sebastian looked at them and crumpled onto the ground, in tears. They sat, waiting for an update on her condition. After what had seemed like months, Maru walked out. Sebastian sprung up.

"I-is she going to be okay?" said Sebastian.

"Well, not great, but she survived. She has a really bad cut on her leg, and she almost broke her ankle, in fact, she's lucky that she didn't. Her wrist is sprained too, and she got a mild concussion." said Maru.

"Oh god, is she awake now?" said Abigail.

"She's resting, I'm assuming she'll wake up soon. You guys can go home. It's pretty late. She'll be fine, so don't worry." said Maru.

Sam yawned and stood up. He beckoned Sebastian and Abigail to come with, but Sebastian stayed. He refused to move.

"C-could I see her?" he said.

"She's asleep, but if you'd like, sure." said Maru.

Sebastian parted with Sam and Abgail, and followed Maru into the main room. Sasha was lying there, cleaner and bandaged up. Harvey and Abigail left the room after checking her vitals.

"Hey there." said Sebastian. He thought looked so pretty, with her brown hair fanned around her, even despite what had just happened.

"I'm sorry. I feel like this is my fault, but right now I'm just so glad you're safe. I care about you so much, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for you…"

He gently held her hand in his, and kissed it.

"I…" said Sebastian. Sasha's eyes fluttered. As she opened her eyes, Sebastian's tears fell onto the bed. He hadn't noticed that she had woken up until she brought her hand up to his face. He looked up.

"S-sebby…don't cry please." said Sasha.

Sebastian smiled. He wiped his tears away and sniffled. Sasha opened her other hand.

"A-augh..." she said.

"Don't move it, Maru said you sprained it." he said.

"But…" said Sasha.

She struggled, but brought her hand over to his. She placed the crane down into his palm.

"I held onto it this whole t-time…" she said. "S-Sebastian… Without this crane, I don't think I'd be here right now. You kept me going…"

He took the crane and placed it on the side table. He leaned in and hugged her gently.

"I-I'm so tired, but, please don't leave me…" she said.

"I won't." he replied.

She closed her eyes and drifted off. Sebastian leaned in and kissed her forehead. Then, sat back and fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15 - Pretty Dinner

Chapter 15

Sebastian visited Sasha in the clinic every day. She began to regain her strength over time, and after only 1 month, she was released. Sebastian had to admit, he was falling in love with her. Everything about her was perfect. Eventually, he mustered up the courage to have dinner with her again. It was already spring once again, and the season was perfect. He felt ready. Sasha, on the other hand, was equally as nervous. She was thankful to be alive, and had so much to show him. She kept wondering how he felt about her. On the night of the dinner, she took hours to get ready. She started off with cooking, made a huge dinner, and knowing that Seafood is his favorite, had been catching fish all morning. After the food was ready, she took a shower and prepped her outfit. It was a simple black dress, but she was confident to show her legs off a bit due to all the exercise she had been getting. She still didn't have any heels, because they were impractical in the country, but painted her nails to match. She noticed how she had changed as she was getting ready, appearance wise. Her hair was long, and a honey-brown color from all the sun. Her face was perfect and symmetrical, with dark emerald colored eyes. She had dark, long eyelashes and eyebrows. Just as she finished curling her hair, the doorbell rang. Her heart leaped.

 _"Oh god oh god this is it._ " she thought.

She checked herself one last time before opening the door. Sebastian had dressed up. He was wearing black jeans and a grey button up shirt with a tie. He was obviously trying hard. They were so taken aback by each other that they forgot what they were doing for a moment.

 _"He's so hot, what the fuck?!"_ thought Sasha.

"Wow." said Sebastian.

He stood for a moment before stepping inside.

"Thanks for having me." he said.

"N-no problem…" said Sasha.

After a few minutes, they got comfortable again. Sasha had a ton of gems to show him, and described the whole journey in detail. They loved each other's company. They loved each other. They talked for hours into the night. It was 12pm when they finally decided it was time to finish up. They walked to the door to say their goodbyes.

"Oh, before I forget!" said Sasha. She disappeared into the house. When she returned, she was holding something in her hands.

"Close your eyes!" she said. Sebastian held out his hands and Sasha pressed the smooth, cold stone into his hand. It was a frozen tear. The light passed through it perfectly. It was like an opal, but more amazing.

"Oh…" he said. "Thank you so much…This is…incredible."

"Really?" she exclaimed. "Thank you for coming over. I haven't had this much fun in a while. That cave really traumatized me."

"Thanks for having me. I had a lot of fun today too." said Sebastian. "I'd better get going. It's late."

Sasha frowned, but nodded. "Yeah. Probably." she said.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. When he finally left, Sasha got changed back into her normal attire. She sat on her bed for a while. She regretted not telling him. It was too much. She couldn't stand it anymore, but she was too tired to cry. She'd never forget his smile.

* * *

The next morning was pouring rain. Sebastian sat in his bed, staring at the window. Suddenly, he sprung up. He shoved his feet into sneakers and tugged on a sweatshirt. He didn't grab an umbrella, much to Robin's confusion and dismay, but just ran to the town. He stopped by the store, and sprinted straight to Sasha's house. Sasha dragged herself out of bed to open the door. Sebastian stood there, clutching the bouquet. He was soaking wet, but didn't care.

"Sasha. I like you. I have liked you for a long time. I'm not sure how to say this really, bu-" he began to say, but was cut off.

"I like you too Sebastian." She said. "I was so terrified that you wouldn't feel the same..."

They both smiled at each other. They were both so happy.

"S-Sasha?" He said. "Will you-"

"Yes." she interrupted. "Of course, yes."

He dropped the bouquet and pulled her towards him. He loved kissing her. Her lips were so soft, just like he had imagined. He held her close for a long time. He never wanted to let go. When they finally pulled apart, they were smiling.

"Sebastian, you have no idea how much I've wanted this. You're so kind, and loving. Thank you." said Sasha.

Neither of them could speak anymore. Sasha led Sebastian inside, and helped him dry off. She had a pair of his sweatpants that he had given her to hem, but no shirt. He tried on one of her shirts, but it stretched tightly over his chest. She couldn't help but giggle.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go shirtless." said Sebastian. He smirked and winked at Sasha, making her blush.

"C'mere." she said. She pulled him onto the couch and hugged him. "Want to watch a movie…together?"

"Of course." he said. "It is perfect cuddle weather, and I'd love to spend some time with my new girlfriend." He smirked again.

The word "Girlfriend" made Sasha blush, but she was so grateful to be his. She made popcorn, and let Sebastian choose the movie. Sasha shut off the lights and sat down on the couch. Sebastian wrapped her with the blanket and pulled her close. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he kissed her forehead. This was it. They were finally together. They had each other now.

And she couldn't help but think,

"Holy crap, this guy..."


	16. Chapter 16 - A Storm

Chapter 16

Sebastian slept over that night. He couldn't get over the fact that she was his. He couldn't get enough of her hugs or kisses. He never wanted to leave her. It was still pouring the next morning. Sebastian sent out an IM to Abigail and Sam, inviting them over to hang out and play video games.

 _Sebby360: Hey guys, wanna come over to Sasha's place for a gaming day?_

 _Abbygale: Sure, wat time?_

 _SalmonSam: k, shuld we bring anything?_

 _Sebby360: Nah, we have everything, just bring stuff that you might need lol. How does 11 sound?_

 _SalmonSam: Gud, see u then ;)_

 _Abbygale: Yah, sounds fun :D_

They still didn't know that Sebastian and Sasha were dating. They could imagine the looks on their faces already. Sasha was in the kitchen, mixing cookie dough. Sebastian slipped on his sweatshirt, which had been drying overnight, and padded in with a pair of fuzzy socks. He hugged Sasha from behind and kissed her cheek. While the cookies were baking, Sasha changed into more comfortable clothes. Now they both were wearing sweatpants and fuzzy socks, perfect for the occasion. Just after the cookies were taken out, they heard a knock at the door. They had been going over different ways to announce their relationship. When they opened the door, Sam and Abigail were both grinning madly.

"Woah, what's up with you two?" said Sebastian.

"I'm just super hyped for GAMING DAY! Woo!" said Sam.

"Yeah, this will be super fun!" said Abigail.

"Err, before you guys come in, we've got something to tell you…" said Sasha. Sam and Abigail's faces fell. It sounded like Sasha was serious.

"Well…um…I…" said Sebastian, stuttering. He cleared his throat and clasped hands with Sasha. They held their arms up.

"We're…" said Sasha. She couldn't finish her sentence before Sam cut her off.

"DATING?!" said Sam. "YES!"

"I'm so happy for you guys! I knew you would make a great couple." said Abigail.

Sebastian and Sasha smiled at each other while Sam and Abigail did their own happy dances. Sasha leaned into Sebastian.

"Hey…" she whispered "Do you think that they're crushing on each other?"

"Yes." said Sebastian. "I'm surprised that _they_ haven't started dating…"

They stepped inside, greeted by the warmth of the fireplace and the smell of cookies. Sasha led Abigail upstairs, but Sam held Sebastian back.

"So, you finally confessed. Good job man! I'm proud of you." said Sam

"Hah, thanks. It was kind of spur of the moment, but I'm so glad I confessed. I can tell that this relationship is going to be better than mine with Abby." said Sebastian. He smiled to himself.

"Plus, you must be pretty hyped eh? A girlfriend with her own house is every guys dream." Sam winked and smirked, but Sebastian elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't think that way you pervert! She's so sweet. I'm not going to rush into anything." Sebastian frowned and walked towards the stairs.

"Wait, dude…" said Sam. "I know Abby was demanding in that sort of way, but… do you think that she likes me?" His expression changed completely. His face was red.

"I can't tell dude, sorry. She never liked expressing her attraction towards me when we dated. I don't think we ever held hands. I still feel like she used me. Just, be careful, okay? You guys seem close, and I think you would make a good couple, but don't rush."

Sebastian frowned and rubbed his shoulder awkwardly.

"To be fair though, I have…the best girlfriend I could ask for now. I never felt this strongly about Abby, but if you do, at least tell her." Sebastian smirked. "Now, let's go play some SSB so that I can kick your ass. I've been practicing a lot recently."

When Sebastian and Sam walked up the stairs, Sasha and Abigail were already playing. Sasha was winning. The round ended and Sebastian smiled.

"Hey good game!" said Sebastian.

Startled, the girls whirled around. Sasha blushed. Sebastian sat down next to Sasha on the beanbag, whispering to her about his conversation with Sam while they watched him awkwardly perch on the edge of the bag. This time, it was Sebastian and Sasha that were giggling. They paired up two more controllers, and the game faded the awkwardness away into the night. It was already 2 in the morning when Sam and Abigail left, exhausted.

Sebastian was asleep on the beanbag when Sasha got back upstairs, so she sat down next to him. She pulled a blanket over them both and drifted off. When Sebastian woke up the next morning, Sasha had her arms wrapped around him. As he yawned, Sasha woke up.

"Oh! Sorry…I didn't mean to wake you." said Sebastian. He blushed. "You looked so cute; all cuddled up like that…"

"Don't worry, I woke up on my own." said Sasha. "The floor is kind of stiff…my back hurts. Do you want to go downstairs? I think the couch might be more comfy." Thunder cracked outside. It was going to be a bad storm. "Or, uh, if you want, we can set up the TV in my bedroom and watch movies…" Sebastian squeezed her waist.

"Either sounds good…" he smiled, then had an idea. "Hey…wanna…actually never mind. It's probably a stupid idea."

"Huh? Do what?" said Sasha. Lightning struck, and Sasha flinched. "I'm down for anything!"

"Well…would you wanna…build…a pillow fort?" Sebastian blushed. He knew she would think the idea is childish. Her eyes widened.

"YES! That sounds super fun!" Sasha pulled herself out of the beanbag. "I think I've got some spare blankets and pillows…" She walked down the steps, beckoning him to come with. Sebastian smiled. They spent the rest of that day together, turning her bedroom into a massive fortress. They played video games and read comics; Sebastian even let Sasha put makeup on him. They had a wonderful time. It was a big change for them both, and they both liked it.


	17. Chapter 17 - Eyes

Chapter 17

It had been a few weeks since Sebastian and Sasha started dating. Sebastian was on his way to dinner at her house. He knocked, but there was no reply.

"Hey Sebby!" Sebastian whirled around, but no-one was there. "Look up!" Sasha was on the roof, peering over the edge. Sebastian flinched when he saw her.

"You nearly made me shit myself!" said Sebastian, laughing.

"The ladder is on the side of the house, come up here!" Sasha's head disappeared, and Sebastian heard footsteps walking up the roof.

Sebastian walked over to the ladder, and climbed up. There was a small staircase that lead up to a flat deck. There were a few small potted plants, a professional-grade photography camera and a large telescope. A toolbox sat under the telescope, filled with different tools, lenses and telescope attachments.

"Welcome to my personal heaven. Look behind you." said Sasha. Sebastian hadn't even noticed that the sky had grown darker, and the sun was setting. The trees had a natural clearing where the sun was setting, so they had a perfect view. The sky was tinted rainbow colors, and the clouds looked like cotton candy. It really was a view fit for heaven.

"Wow…" said Sebastian. Sasha set down a lens, and walked over to where he was sitting. She sat next to him. He glanced over at her, only just noticing the red tint on her cheeks and nose. It was already April, but the weather was still freezing. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, and she leaned on his shoulder. A literal fairytale scene, straight out of a book. Soon enough, the sun had set. They went inside, ready to eat. As they were dishing up, Sebastian realized something.

"Hey, uh…what happened in the cave? We never really talked about it." Sasha froze. She hadn't thought about the whole incident in a while.

"Well, there's something I should tell you first…remember that story I told you? Just before my first egg hunt?" Sebastian nodded and Sasha set down her plate. "Well…I didn't tell you…but I saw the person once. I'm still not sure if it was a guy or girl. Well anyway, they were wearing white. All white. Palest skin I've ever seen. Gloves, shirt, hat, hair…everything. Very tall and super skinny. I looked up, sitting at a bus stop, and they had a small camera in their hand. It wasn't a very special camera, but I could clearly see it, and it was pointed directly at me. When I noticed, they lowered the camera and for a second looked me dead in the eyes before sprinting off. The eyes it had. These blood red, piercing eyes. I don't think I'll ever get over the feeling those eyes sent down my spine. See, now when I reached the bottom of that cave, I opened the chest and got that skull key. Remember? I showed it to you. Well, this other…thing came out of the lava, and me being an idiot and assuming that it was just a monster was prepared to fight it but…it grew, almost up to the ceiling of that cave I swear, and when it turned around…those eyes. There's no mistaking it."

By the time Sasha had finished, she was trembling violently. Seeing that she was about to fall, Sebastian set down his plate and hurried over to her. Sasha collapsed into his arms, and they sat down on the floor together. She hugged him tightly and began to sob. The more she thought about it, the more she cried. Each of her cries pierced Sebastian's heart. He hated having to see her this way. She didn't deserve it. He cradled her in his arms for a few minutes as she stopped crying.

"I-I'm sorry…" said Sasha as she pulled away. "I-It's embarrassing having you s-see me like this. I'm a wreck." Surprised by this, Sebastian gently pulled her in again, kissing her forehead.

"Oh please don't worry…I don't think anything less of you at all. It was a bad experience for you." He held her close and squeezed her gently.

"C-Can we just, forget about this?" said Sasha.

"Of course." Sebastian stood up and helped Sasha to stand. "Let's eat now, okay? Don't worry about anything."

The couple finished dishing up, and sat down. Soon enough, Sasha forgot about the whole experience and began to enjoy the dinner. She loved spending time with him. He made her forget about anything bad she had ever experienced. Just as they were finishing up, Sebastian walked over to the door.

"Wait…" said Sasha. She began to blush. "Would you…stay over tonight? You haven't stayed over in a while, and if you don't want to that's okay…but…I just don't think I want be alone right now."

"Of course I will." said Sebastian. He smiled to himself. She was adorable. "Where do you want me to sleep? On the couch in the living room, or on the chair in your bedroom?"

Sasha looked at the ground, fidgeting with her hands. "Uh…Well…If you want to… we could…share my bed…" Sebastian blushed. He knew nothing would happen, but the idea of them cuddling like that made him happy. He smiled and nodded. Sasha was a wonderful host. She already had some of his pajamas, which she had washed and ironed, and even had spare toiletries for guests. When he walked into her bedroom, Sasha was sitting cross legged on her bed, holding her camera. He sat down next to her. The photos were incredible. She explained to him how she connects the camera to the telescope to take photos of the sky. Eventually, they shut off the lights and put away the camera. Lying in her bed, it felt so natural to him. Like something he had been doing for a long time.

When Sasha woke up the next morning, Sebastian was gone. She assumed that he had gone home, but when she sleepily stumbled into the kitchen, he was standing there, frying eggs. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey cutie! I woke up early to make you breakfast." he looked back down at the pan and ran his hands through his hair. This sort of thing never happened to her. She was surprised by the gesture. The table was set, there was even a flower in a tiny vase. She sat down and yawned.

"Wow…I don't think my parents even did this for me…" said Sasha. Sebastian frowned.

"Never? Even after you got a good grade on a test, or when you were sick?" he said.

"Nope. My parents didn't really do that sort of thing. I would have to beg if I wanted a birthday party." She didn't seem sad about it, as if it were normal.

"That sucks. Even though…my dad died, my mom would try so hard with me. I fell kinda depressed, but she would work so hard so that I could at least try to be happy. I don't know what I would do without her." He went quiet. "I still haven't thanked her for everything."

After breakfast, Sebastian left. He was busy, and had work to do. Sasha on the other hand, went to the store. She bought a packet of tulip seeds and went home to plant them in a small patch on the inside of her greenhouse. She was going to thank Robin for many things. The house, her kindness and most importantly, her son.


	18. Chapter 18 - Cliff

Chapter 18

Two weeks after Sasha had planted the tulip bulbs; the flowers had sprouted and grown full, beautiful colors. She sat back, admiring her work. It was the least she could do. She used her pruners to cut the biggest and prettiest flowers, and tied them together with a ribbon. She wrote a small thank you note and stuck it inside the bundle. She had also baked a cherry pie, with only homemade ingredients, and packaged it neatly. She wanted to deliver it personally, but when she arrived at the shop, no-one was there, so she left it on the counter.

Demetrius and Maru were out of town, heading to a robotics fair in the city, so it was just Sebastian and Robin at home. They were pleasantly surprised when they arrived home from running errands.

"Oh my…" whispered Robin. They looked at each other with confusion before opening the card and sighing when they saw it was from.

"I can't believe she would do something like this…" said Sebastian. He hugged Robin and sighed. "It was a long overdue thank you though." Robin smiled and patted her son's back.

"You know Sebastian, you're very lucky to have her. She's so wonderful to you. I'm glad you finally found yourself a proper girlfriend. I know Abigail never treated you as well, although despite that, I'm glad you are friends."

Robin picked up the warm pie and walked towards the kitchen before stopping.

"Keep her." she said.

Sebastian smiled and nodded.

It was early fall now. Sebastian walked outside and back around the house to the garage. He opened the door and suddenly had an idea. He wanted to take her to his sanctuary. It was a cliff overlooking the city, surrounded by trees. He thought she might like it. After an hour or so of repairing his motorcycle, he heard Sasha calling his name.

"Hey Sebby!" she stopped. "I didn't know you had a motorcycle!" She walked around it, in awe. "Is it a Harley Softail? I like the color!"

"Uh, yeah. How did you know that?" said Sebastian.

"I've always liked motorcycles, they're pretty cool, and I always thought studying how they functioned was interesting." She sat down ok the skateboard and rolled underneath the bike, admiring Sebastian's Handiwork. "It seems you've done quite a few modifications, super tricky work. Hats off to you!"

Sebastian smiled and blushed. Then, he realized his opportunity.

"Err, would you want to go riding with me sometime?" he glanced at his shoes and kicked a rock around. Sasha rolled out from underneath, smiling.

"Of course! Where would you want to go?" she said.

"Uh, I know a place. In fact, don't eat dinner tomorrow, I'll pack food." he already had planned out the whole dinner.

"Sounds fun." said Sasha. Inside, she was ecstatic. She wanted to tell him how she really felt about him.

"Dress warm, okay? The bike ride might be cold." he said.

The next day, Sebastian spent the whole afternoon cooking. He made soups and sandwiches and salads, even a cheese platter. He also brought some of Sasha's homemade wine, (she had gifted them a few bottles) and glasses. He packed it all neatly into a picnic basket with a blanket, and placed it in the trunk of his motorcycle. As he was rolling it out of the garage, Sasha was just arriving at the house. She was wearing black leggings and combat boots, with a white shirt and flannel, and she was carrying a sweatshirt and scarf.

"Hey there. You look great." said Sebastian. Sasha blushed and grinned. "Ready to go?" She nodded.

They walked over to his motorcycle, where Sebastian handed Sasha a helmet. She pulled on her sweatshirt and wrapped the scarf around her neck. Sebastian kicked back the stand and helped Sasha get on. She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. They had been dating for months now, but it still made him blush. He rolled backwards and turned the bike. He turned the key and the bike started rumbling. Just like that, they were off. It was cold for Sasha, but Sebastian's body heat helped her stay warm. Finally, they arrived at the clearing. Sebastian kicked down the stand and helped Sasha off. When she took her helmet off, she gasped at the view. From where they were standing, you could see the entire city, including the mountains. The view was gorgeous. You couldn't see the sun, but the sky was a pastel rainbow. She stood there for a moment taking it in.

"Hey." said Sebastian, breaking Sasha out of a trance. "Aren't you hungry?" When Sasha turned around, her eyes widened. The picnic blanket was half covered in food, with just enough space for her to sit down. She felt bad; the food must've taken forever for him to cook.

"Oh god Sebastian, this is incredible." she sat next to him and kissed his cheek. "This looks great, but how long did this take?"

"Not long at all." lied Sebastian. "It was worth it for you." They sat and ate, joking and talking about everything. When they were finished, the sky had grown dark, and the air was cold. Sasha was wearing a scarf and sweatshirt, but she was still freezing.

"Are you cold?" said Sebastian, who was packing the food back into the trunk.

"Nahhh." said Sasha.

"You can't fool me! Your cheeks and nose are red!" Sebastian giggled.

"Oh ha-ha, laugh at my expense." said Sasha.

"Okay okay." said Sebastian. He closed the trunk and sat next to her on the blanket. "I've gotta admit, you do look pretty cute all wrapped up though. I could eat you up!" He pretended to bite her cheek.

"Stop!" said Sasha, who was giggling now too. Sebastian wrapped his arms around her, and nuzzled into her scarf. They fell back into a giggling pile, unable to stop laughing. When they finally composed themselves, they realized how late it was.

"Wow, it got pretty late." said Sasha. "I don't wanna go back though." she pouted and frowned.

"Well, it's up to you, but we could stay here a little bit longer if you'd like." Sebastian glanced up at the sky, then at his watch. "And normally at around 12:30, the moon ends up right above here. We could stay until then. How does that sound?"

"Great! I haven't been stargazing since I was a little girl. The city was too bright to do it there." Sasha glanced up at the sky. After a moment, she was pulled down by Sebastian.

"C'mere." he said. "Your hands are freezing! Why didn't you tell me you were so cold?"

"I honestly didn't notice till now…" said Sasha. She was beginning to realize how cold she really was. "Sorry. It's just so wonderful up here." Sebastian smiled and unwrapped his arms from her waist.

"Wait here a second." Sasha groaned and shivered. Sebastian stood up and walked over to his motorcycle, where he opened up the trunk, fishing around until he finally found what he was looking for. When he returned, he was carrying another blanket. It wasn't a picnic blanket but rather, a softer, fluffier blanket. He held it up.

"Perfect, no?" he said.

"Looks warm... Now, bring it here, I can't feel my feet anymore!" Sasha said.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have taken your shoes off!" said Sebastian. He started giggling again.

"Hey, that's unfair! You took yours off too! It's much comfier!" Sasha was trying hard not to laugh. Sebastian sat next to Sasha, wrapping her in the blanket and pulling her close again. They laid together for a couple of minutes, almost drifting off. Sasha snapped awake, noticing that Sebastian was asleep. She looked up at the sky. The moon shone full and beautifully in the center.

"Hey, Sebby, look!" said Sasha. She nudged him gently. He stirred for a second before finally waking up. He sat up and looked at the sky. Sebastian wrapped his arm around Sasha as they watched the moon. After a few minutes, Sasha yawned and stood up.

"We've got to go Seb, it's getting late, I don't wanna get attacked by mosquitoes if we fall asleep here!" Sebastian grabbed her wrist as she was standing.

"Wait. Sasha…" Sasha grew worried, he didn't normally speak in that sort of voice unless it was serious. "Listen, these few months with you have been great…"

Her heart sank.

"I just wanted to say thank you. You're so amazing to me and I'm so glad that I confessed because this had been the best relationship I've ever had in my life." They were sitting across from each other now, knee to knee. Their faces were very slowly drifting towards each other. "You mean the world to me."

"I don't normally bring girls up here, in fact, you're the only one..."

"Sasha…"

"You know what I'm trying to say…don't you?"

…

"I love you too…Sebastian."


	19. Chapter 19 - Crying

Chapter 19

The rest of the week, the couple was inseparable. The whole town could see how perfect they were together. Rumors were spread of course, fueling the town's largest gossip stream in a long time. It wasn't bad gossip, just good ideas of what might happen with them. It was nearly winter now, with only about 1 week of fall left. The group of friends had decided to go out for dinner, despite it being rainy and wet. They hung out at the Saloon, playing pool and Junimo Kart till the bars closing time. Abigail and Sam were both drunk, but neither Sasha nor Sebastian enjoyed hard alcohol, so it was their jobs to get the two people home. They agreed to meet back up at the outside of the shop once they had dropped their respective friends back at home. Sebastian took a while, because Sam wouldn't let go and kept falling over if he did. When Sebastian finally arrived back at the shop, Sasha was standing there, hopping around and shivering in the dim brightness of the street lamps. She waved when she saw him. They walked back to her house, hand in hand. Soon enough, they were both about to start up the game, when Sasha stopped.

"Oh shoot, I forgot to check the mail! I'd wait, but I ordered a new game, and I wanna play it with you as soon as possible." She stood up. "I'll be right back, Okay?"

Sebastian nodded and sank down further into the beanbag as he heard Sasha padding down the stairs. He pulled out his phone, which had been buzzing all night. Sam, who was still wasted, was now sending him messages and phallic emojis about him and Sasha. He shook his head and sent back a middle finger emoji before muting his messages and turning off his phone. He sat, waiting. After a few minutes, he decided that she couldn't have been taking that long to check the mail, shoved slippers on his feet and walked downstairs. He opened the door to outside. It was still raining hard. He grabbed and opened an umbrella, then stepped outside. He heard her calling his name in soft cries. He stepped off the porch and looked to the balcony. She was sitting there, absolutely soaked. She was holding a single letter. He rushed over to her. She was crying.

"Sasha!" he exclaimed. "What's wrong?" She looked up at him and raised her hand. She was holding a letter. In the same handwriting that had written her other anonymous notes, were two words.

"Found you."

Below that, was a photo of her and Sebastian walking next to the lake. Taped to the envelope was a note from Lewis explaining that he had found the letter in his truck, and it was addressed to her, so he dropped it off at her mailbox. Sebastian crumpled the note and threw it on the ground. He held the large umbrella over them both, now holding Sasha close. She was sobbing into his shoulders. He looked around before picking her up and carrying her in. In the light, he could see how distraught and dirty she was. Her hair and clothes were soaked, and she had mud all over herself. Sebastian held her until she stopped crying, gently stroking her hair. Then he helped her to clean off the mud, and even washed her hair for her. When she had finished drying herself off, she changed into pajamas. She felt better outside, but was secretly terrified. Sebastian sat her down on the couch, brushing her hair as they talked.

"S-Sebby…I'm s-sorry." she said. She felt embarrassed that she had become so helpless.

"What?!" exclaimed Sebastian. He set the hairbrush down and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms and legs around her. "That is the silliest thing I've ever heard. Why are you sorry?"

"I'm so helpless. You probably t-think I'm weird for being this scared." she tried to escape his arms, but he wouldn't let go. He kissed her head, squeezing her gently. He couldn't believe that she felt this way. She started to sniffle again. "I've been super emotionally fragile recently…I keep breaking down…I blacked out the other day and when I woke up I couldn't stop crying…"

"You've been…what?" he said. "Sasha, why didn't you tell me?" He suddenly felt a wave of guilt rush over him. As if he wasn't doing what he was supposed to. "I've got to know about this…Okay? If you're ever feeling upset just call me. I'll always be there for you. Just that thought of you crying alone makes me feel like a bad boyfriend…"

"I'm sorry…it's embarrassing. I don't want you to think I can't stand up for myself or protect myself. Please don't be mad…" she frowned. "I just feel like sometimes I'm never safe…but then you're here and I feel like I could do anything. I'm still terrified of that guy. That photo didn't help."

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at all. I'm here to protect you now. I'll sleep here tonight. Go to bed okay? I'll find a blanket and sleep on the couch." He released her from his arms, but as she stood up, she pulled him up too.

"No no…" She trailed off and started blushing.

"Oh, do you not want me to sleep here?" His heart sank. "That's fine too."

"No! I want you here, but…" She pulled him along into her bedroom, and then sat on the bed. She grabbed his arm, sending him flying onto the bed. "I want you here…"

She blushed and looked down at her feet. "Please?"

He smiled and nodded. "I'll just go change, okay? Get cozy." When he returned, she was lying under the sheets, staring at the ceiling. He walked around the to the other end of the bed, joining her underneath. She snapped the lights off, and then scooted next to him. He wrapped his arms around her. Almost instantly, they fell asleep. They barely moved during the night. The bed was still neat when they woke up, and they were even still wrapped around each other. They were awake for a while, just lying there in silence, when Sasha finally spoke.

"Sebastian…what if that thing finds me?" she said. There was a waver in her voice. She wanted an answer that he couldn't give.

"I-I…" he stuttered. "I don't know…"

"What if…the photo that they sent me…the one where I was…" she trailed off.

…

…

…

"What if I die?"


	20. Chapter 20 - It feels Wrong

Chapter 20

Sebastian froze. Slowly, he turned to Sasha. She had a blank expression on her face, with tears rolling down her cheeks. She was just sitting there, staring off into space. It looked like she had just disappeared. He was speechless too. After a moment, he started to process the situation. He shook Sasha gently. She didn't react.

"Sasha…" he said. "Please dear god don't ever say something like that ever again. Promise me that you won't!" he was starting to yell. She still didn't respond. He began to tremble, when finally she snapped back. Tears were rolling down his cheeks now too as they stared into each other's eyes. As she looked at him now, she felt horrible.

"Sebby…I'm sorry, I really didn't mean anything…" Sasha sat back, hugging herself. He looked at her with an expression of sadness and rage.

"How could you?! Sasha I love you too much to worry about these things, I'll do anything to protect you and you know that, so how could you say something like that?!" Sebastian was yelling now, he stopped constantly to wipe his face of tears. "Do you know how that makes me feel?!" Sasha was stunned by his sudden anger. She had never seen him like this before. Sebastian was now sitting huddled up, with his head on his knees. "Do you even want me here?!" He was really shaking now, sobbing softly. Sasha moved over next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. They sat there for a while before moving.

He sniffed and wiped his eyes, pushing her back onto the bed and standing up suddenly. "I'm gonna go."

He shoved his shoes on and stormed off. He slammed the door behind him in a fit of anger, but when he looked into the window and saw Sasha crying on the bed, he felt awful.

"SHIT!" he yelled. He kicked a large rock that was nearby, not even wincing at the pain it caused. He didn't want to go back now, because he didn't know what to say. He sat down, thinking to himself. Almost immediately, it started to pour, but he didn't care. He sat there in the rain for a moment before hearing footsteps behind him. He looked up, almost hoping it would be Sasha, but instead, it was Abigail. She had an umbrella in her hand, and was now standing over Sebastian.

"What are you doing?" said Abigail.

"Nothing." he said flatly, wiping his eyes. "I was just gonna go home. Why are you here?"

"I was gonna ask Sasha about something she had ordered from Dad, but that can wait." she held a hand out to him. "I'll take you home, c'mon."

They walked back to Sebastian's empty house. Thunder was beginning to roar in the distance. They let themselves in, going straight downstairs. Abigail went to his room while Sebastian headed to the bathroom to get a towel. When he entered his room, Abigail was perched on his bed, staring at her shoes. She looked up at him.

"So Sebby, why were you sitting in the rain?" she said as Sebastian walked to sit next to her.

"I fought with Sasha. I feel like an asshole. She really needs comfort right now and I just stormed out of her house." Sebastian sniffed and brought the towel up to his hair.

"You know Seb, I don't know if you guys are…good together." she said quietly.

Sebastian flinched at her words, surprised at her sudden statement.

"Abby…what? Are you serious? How can you say that?" he said, getting angry.

"Sorry…I just…" she whispered then stared at him. Suddenly, she flung her leg over him and pushed him back. "I miss you Sebastian. You mean so much to me." she held his arms down and kissed his lips. Her breath smelled like vodka. He was startled and tried to move, but she kept kissing his neck and wouldn't let him go.

"Come on Sebby. You know you want me." she said, slurring her words. He froze and couldn't move, trying to process the situation. He hadn't noticed that she was drunk just before. Abigail let go of one of his arms and began to unzip his jeans hastily. She pulled them down quickly, and was about to pull down his boxer shorts when Sebastian unfroze.

"ABIGAIL WHAT THE FUCK?!" he yelled. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"

Sebastian began to squirm, but when he finally got his other arm free, Abigail already had her shirt off, with her hand under his boxers.

"Sebastian, please!" she moaned. "I need you! Please Baby!" She pulled her hands out of his shorts and rubbed them, bringing her head down and lifting them up to peer inside. She frowned for a moment, and then grinned.

"You're not even hard…I'll change that." she put her hand under his shorts again and began rubbing faster. "You're so big baby…"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He was determined to get her off at this point, and suddenly gained the strength that he needed. He pushed her down and stood up. As she composed herself, she clung onto him, still trying to rip his shorts off. He pushed her off again, finally getting his jeans off and ran upstairs. After a few seconds, he heard heavy steps coming towards him. Abigail was fully clothed again.

"How could you?!" she screamed. "You want me and you know it! You need me! I bet she's not nearly as good!"

"Abigail, shut up! I'm in love with Sasha, and I'm not going back to you. You treated me like shit for years, and when I finally begin to regain faith in love you do this?!" He pulled her up the stairs and pushed her towards the door. "Get out! I don't wanna see you until you can apologize! WE'RE OVER!" he yelled.

He opened the door and shoved her out, but as she stormed off, he noticed Sasha near the garage, already drenched in water. She was staring at his bare chest and unzipped jeans. He grabbed an umbrella and began to run towards her, but when he reached her, she knew she had heard it all. He pulled her into a hug. She didn't say anything, just stared weakly into his bare chest.

"Sasha oh god please tell me you didn't see anything downstairs through the window…" he said, holding her shoulders.

She stood in silence for a moment.

"I saw a little…" she said. "But I heard..."

She stopped in silence again.

"How far did it go?" she said. As Sebastian stared at her face, he noticed the redness around her eyes. She had obviously been crying for a while. How long had he been with Abigail?

"Well…Sasha, before I say anything, remember that I didn't want anything to do with it, okay? I lov-"

"Did you cheat on me?" said Sasha. Her voice was quiet and weak.

"No! Not from me, anyway. She…she kissed me a lot, looked into my boxers, and there was a large amount of…groping…" he said, wrinkling his nose as he was fully processing the turn of events. "I'm so sorry, I feel like shit for doing this to you."

Sasha pulled herself back, crossing her arms and biting her lip. Sebastian hated that he had caused her such pain. After more silence, Sasha spoke.

"I'm gonna go home Sebastian." He dropped his shoulders. This is just…a lot."

"I'm sorry Sasha, please don't go…" he said drifting off. She kicked her foot at the ground, getting her socks soaked.

"God! You aren't even wearing shoes! What happened?! It's pouring!" said Sebastian, suddenly worried. He held his hand up to her forehead.

"You're burning up." he said. "We can talk about this later. I'm getting you inside."

She nodded weakly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He picked her up and carried her inside. He helped her out of her wet clothes and into a bath. This was the first time he had seen her completely naked, and he had to admit, she was pretty stunning. He tried to hide the fact that it turned him on, but she didn't seem to notice. He had to help her get clean, because she was already half asleep, and by the time she got out and downstairs, she was close to collapsing.

"Babe, do you want anything to eat? I feel terrible, I promise I'll take care of you." he said, sitting down next to her on his bed. She shook her head.

"I'm not sick, just cold and tired. I wanna know what happened…everything." she said. He voice was quiet. She lay back onto the bed, shivering on top of the sheets.

"Here, wait." he said before pulling the duvet out from under her and laying it on top. He made sure she was comfortable before perching on the end.

"She found me outside in the rain. I was upset because I didn't mean to hurt you, but I had." He looked up at her eyes, seeing the sadness in her seemingly blank expression. "We came back here, and when I came, downstairs she was sitting on my bed. We talked for like a minute before she came onto me suddenly. I think she was drunk. It was like she was trying to turn me on the whole time." He paused as he noticed her smiling. "Hey…what?" he said.

"Well, in the bathroom…" She giggled a bit. "Let's just say that you weren't very subtle. Holding your hands over your crotch…and your jeans didn't hide it well…"

Sebastian turned red, pulling a face. Sasha's smile faded as he continued.

"Anyway, she kept trying to pull down my shorts…I don't know what got into her. It was like she was addicted to me. She couldn't keep her hands off and I was so uncomfortable the whole time…" He frowned. "I barely gained the energy to push her off. I'm honestly exhausted, and it's not even late. This is so much to try and understand."

Sebastian leaned back next to Sasha on the bed, with his hands covering his face. Now, Sasha felt bad for making him so stressed about the situation.

"I'm sorry Sebby. I didn't mean to make you feel so bad, it's not that big of a deal." She turned to him and rubbed his chest, gliding her finger over his slightly defined chest.

"It is though. I was so tired, she could have done much more if I didn't have the strength to stop her." He paused for a second. "I almost cheated on you…" he whispered.

Sasha froze.

"What?! No you didn't. You did absolutely nothing wrong, and I'm gonna confront her about it. I know she could've been drunk, but something's just not right. We'll figure this out okay?" she said. She laced her fingers in-between his. "Together."

When they got back to the house, Sasha seemed relieved. She took a breath before blurting out her words.

"Hey Sebby… I've gotta admit, I am a little jealous of Abigail." said Sasha.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"Well…she…sa-" Sasha spoke slowly, blushing a lot, but getting cut off before she could finish by Sebastian kissing her.

He pulled her into the bedroom, shutting the drapes on the way in. They kissed more before stopping briefly.

"If you don't wanna do this, its okay…" said Sebastian.

Sasha looked him in the eyes and nodded. They wanted the same thing, and they knew it.


	21. Chapter 21 - Grown Up Love

Chapter 21

They shut the drapes in Sasha's bedroom and locked her door before meeting again at her bed. They kissed more, slowly falling back onto the bed. Sasha straddled him, with her hands on both sides of his face. She felt something poking her through his jeans and pulled away smiling. She leaned back and Sebastian pulled his shirt off in a quick motion. She stared with awe at his torso, and even though she had seen it before, this time was different to her. She moved her hands along his chest, feeling his strong, taut body.

"It's so…" she said, jumbling her words together. Sebastian laughed.

"It's all yours to look at now." he replied leaning back on the bed. His erection stood prominent through his jeans.

Sasha turned around bashfully and unbuttoned the dress she had changed into earlier. As she let it fall to the floor, she could feel Sebastian's eyes drilling into her. She turned red, suddenly very self-conscious. Sebastian had taken his pants off, and they were both now in nothing but underwear. He stood up to kiss her again, using his hands to glide along her body. He sent a shiver down her back as his warm hands touched her. He loosened her bra and slipped it off, exposing her perfect breasts. They fell backwards onto the bed as he kissed her neck, and then her chest. Small moans escaped her mouth as he sucked on her nipples. He held her gently, not overworking her body. He kissed her, working his way down her stomach, until he reached the top of her thighs. He kissed her wet panties, resulting in sharp cries from Sasha.

"Ah! What are you doi-ing?" she said, not able to control her voice.

Her legs buckled as he slid her panties off, gliding his tongue across her wet vagina. He flicked his tongue across her clitoris, causing Sasha to moan loudly.

"S-Sebastian, I-ahhhh"

He licked his way around her, resulting in arousal Sasha had never experienced before. Her breathing was jagged and rough. Each time he sloppily kissed her body, she had to bite her lip from screaming. He continued on, licking her to orgasm. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and returned upwards to kiss her.

"That was…" said Sasha, her breathing slowing. "So incredible…It felt so amazing…"

"Did you really enjoy it? I'm glad." he said, smiling.

When her breathing had returned to normal, Sasha reached down to Sebastian's shorts, rubbing his penis through the thin fabric.

"It's time to return the favor." she said, winking. She pulled his boxers down, exposing his throbbing erection.

"You don't ha-ave…" Sebastian said, but a lustful cry escaped his mouth before he could finish as she grabbed hold of him.

Sasha held his cock gently, rubbing her thumb over the tip, which provoked a sharp moan from Sebastian. She rubbed it a few times before licking along the side. The feeling was new to her, but she loved the reaction it gained from him. She sucked on it, moving her lips up and down along the shaft.

"Sa-asha…more, suck on it more… ple-ease."

She wanted more of it, bringing it inside her mouth. His breathing was irregular, and each time she flicked her tongue across his tip, he cried out loudly with moans of pleasure. Her movement became regular and steady as she got used to the rhythm.

"Sasha-a, I'm gonna cu-um!" he cried out.

A warm liquid filled her mouth. The taste was unusual to her. She stood up and wiped her face and mouth on a nearby towel, spitting the rest of the semen out. Sebastian finished his orgasm and his breathing steadied.

"I'm sorry…" he said, flustered. "I shouldn't have…"

"Don't worry, It's not bad…" she replied, happily. "Either way, I'm not done with you yet…"

She pulled him close, feeling his penis pressed against her thigh. She loved the way it felt. She unwrapped a condom, and rolled it over his hard cock. They kissed more, leaning back onto the bed. He pulled away from her face, lowering his torso until his tip was just touching the entrance to her vagina.

"Are you ready?" he said. "If you're not, we can stop…"

"Yes, Sebastian…" she smiled. "I'm ready for you...but..."

"Are you okay?" he said, running his hand along her face.

"I've just...never..." she said, red in her face.

"That's okay, I just don't want to hurt you...are you really sure you're okay?" he said gently. She took a deep breath before nodding her head.

His penis entered slowly, filling her inside. She let out a long, quiet moan. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his thrusting became faster and more regular. Each time his cock hit her deepest point, she let out a louder moan. He went crazy over the way she ran her hands through his hair.

"Right the-ere! Yes Sebastian…please…don't stop…" she muttered.

She wrapped her legs around his waist as he entered her faster. She could feel herself rising to climax as her moans became louder. She cried out "Sebastian…more!" until finally, she couldn't speak anymore. He finished with a final thrust, sending her into an intense, shuddering orgasm, then collapsed onto the bed, completely out of breath. They smiled at each other with satisfaction. Sebastian took the soaked condom off, then returned to bed, wrapping his arms around her still-naked body. Their breathing slowed as the adrenaline drained from their satisfied bodies.

 _"That was so amazing…"_ thought Sebastian.

Sebastian pulled Sasha closer, smelling her hair and feeling her heart beat through her chest. He kissed her head, smiling.

" _I don't want it to be over…I want more of him…"_ she thought. She turned to face his body, kissing him one last time.

"You know…" said Sasha. "We should really make that a regular thing…"


	22. Chapter 22 - To Rehab

Chapter 22

They giggled sleepily. Sasha glanced over at her alarm clock. 6:30pm. It had been such a long day in what seemed like almost no time. She stood up, pulling Sebastian's shirt on. He groaned and grabbed the empty space on the mattress next to him.

"Where are you going?" he said. " _I want to keep hugging her…her body feels so amazing…"_

"I'll make dinner, stay there okay?" she smiled. "We can eat in bed."

Sasha padded off into the kitchen, opening the fridge and starting dinner. Sebastian laid back, smiling to himself. On the chair in the corner of Sasha's room, Sebastian's phone buzzed in his pants. He went to pick it up, but wasn't happy to see the caller ID as "Abby". He walked over and shut the door before picking up the call.

"Abigail." he said flatly. He pulled his boxers on hesitantly and sat down in the chair.

"Sebastian? Can we talk?" she said. It sounded like she had been crying.

"What is it? I think you've said enough." He rubbed his forehead. "Abigail, look, I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but you need to take a good step back. If I haven't said it enough, I currently love my girlfriend, and what you did was not okay. You should be apologizing to her, not me."

"I know Seb. Look, it's hard for me to admit…but I've got an alcohol addiction. I swear to god nothing I did meant anything. I really think you two are soul mates, and I've even been considering asking Sam out. I had a flask in my pocket and I couldn't resist. I really regret today and I wish I could take it all back." she sighed loudly on the other end. "As I was drinking I was just thinking about our relationship and how lonely I was."

"Abigail, that's not an excuse. Do you know how upset I am? Do you know how much this hurts her? All I want to do is protect her, and I would take a bullet for her, but when you do things like this…" he sighed. "Do you hate me? Is that why you treated me like this when we were dating? Why do you keep trying to screw me over?!"

"Seb, you know I don't…"

"Then WHAT is it?! Are you jealous of Sasha because you know how much she means to me? Do you think that YOU could ever replace her?!"

"I'm sorry okay?! I regret treating you so badly during our relationship, and all I was thinking was about sex. I drank because I missed having a good boyfriend and I guess I wanted to attempt to do something with you again. I really don't know what I was thinking."

"Abigail, you and me are over. Okay?! Don't ever try and come in between us again or I can guarantee that you will be sorry."

"Seb…"

"No, listen. You could have really screwed our relationship up. What if you kept going?! Until you can apologize to her face, don't call me again."

Sebastian ended the call before she could respond and buried his phone in his pants pocket. When he turned around, Sasha was standing with a tray in her arms. He walked over to the bed and sat down, patting the mattress beside him. She placed the tray on the bedside table and sat down, folding her hands and placing them on her legs.

"You got really mad..." said Sasha. "What did she say?"

"Nothing important, okay? Please, please don't worry about it." he said. He brought his hand up to her cheek, stroking her face before kissing her softly on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, taking in the moment. They pulled away and ate in front of Sebastian's laptop, streaming their favorite shows. Sasha paused for a moment, setting down her empty plate.

"Hey Sebastian…" she said quietly.

"Yes?" he was careful with his tone now, he didn't want to come off as aggressive anymore.

"What you said earlier, to Abigail…about protecting me…" she drifted off. "Was that true?"

"Of course. I can't stand the idea of you getting hurt now, and until we find out that that thing is, and why it's stalking you, I'm gonna try to stay by your side and protect you. You have my word." He pulled her close to his chest, stroking her hair.

"Then…would you move in with me?"

Thunder struck outside, startling them both and interrupting the silence.

"Are you serious?" he said. "I'd love to Sasha, of course, but are you sure you want me here?"

"Well, you're here most of the time anyway… and with what's been going on with the photo recently…" she slowed down, biting her nails. "I just miss you so much when you're not here…and I don't feel safe without you…"

He smiled at her worried face.

"Are you sure?" he said.

She teared up, nodding furiously as he hugged her, squeezing her closely.

"If you ever feel unsafe, and I'm not here, please call me…I'll move my computer here, and then I can work from your house, so I should be here more often…"

Sebastian continued talking about their living situation, but at this point Sasha was exhausted. She drifted off in his arms, still feeling a slight erection against her. For some reason, it gave her comfort. It was like knowing how strong their relationship had gotten.

The next morning, Sebastian and Sasha were woken by loud knocking on their front door. Sasha scrambled to get Sebastian's shirt on again and rushed to the door. When she opened it, she wasn't happy to see Abigail.

"Hey Sasha." said Abigail. She had a note of concern in her voice. Sasha stayed silent, looking down at her feet. Abigail held a bouquet of flowers, handing them to Sasha. There was a note tucked inside that had "Sorry" written on the front.

"I'm sorry Sasha… I don't know if Sebastian told you, but I've become an alcoholic in the past few weeks, and I haven't been myself. I promise that nothing I did or said meant anything, and I'm completely over Sebastian."

"Okay?" said Sasha. She had no emotion on her face. Abigail frowned.

"I'm gonna leave for rehab tonight. There is a clinic downtown, so I'm not coming back until I can tell you that I'm fine and wont drink as heavily. I swear I feel so awful... I really messed up."

Sasha sighed.

"I guess that's all I can say really. Goodbye Sasha. I'm so sorry I did this."

Sasha leaned in, hugging her. She didn't want to hold onto a grudge for so long.

"Good luck Abigail." she said before closing the door. Sebastian stood at the edge of the doorway.

"Well…I guess that's that." he said. "You okay?"

She nodded, placing the bouquet in an empty vase on her table. She headed towards Sebastian, taking in his smell as they hugged. Not 30 minutes later, they heard another knock. This time however, it was Sam.

"Hey guys! I'm bored, and Abs is leaving, so I came to hang out with you…" He drifted away, noticing their attire, and when Sasha turned to walk upstairs, he winked at Sebastian.

"I'll be upstairs, I'm gonna boot up something for us to play!" she shouted down the staircase.

"Okay!" said Sebastian. There was a hint of drunken love in his voice.

"DUDE!" said Sam, breaking him from a trance. "You totally got laid!"

"Woah dude slow down. How can you even tell?" said Sebastian.

"She's wearing one of your shirts, and you're wearing a sweatshirt…and boxers…" He said, giggling. Sebastian blushed. "So anyway, how was it? How was she? Is her body good? When?!"

"Sam, that would be super creepy if you weren't my best friend, but to be honest…" he said, smiling dreamily. "It was so amazing…She is so perfect in every way, like I was her priority the whole time."

Sam's eyes widened.

"Dude…did she suck your dick?! I can tell by the look on your face." he patted Sebastian's back. "Nice!"

"Oh god…I shouldn't have said anything." said Sebastian, stepping back. "You make it sound so dirty..."

"Well, you're not denying it." said Sam.

" _Because she did… It felt so great…"_ Sebastian thought. " _I really shouldn't think about that now, I'm gonna get hard again…"_

He shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He rolled his eyes at Sam, who was giggling.

"Dude, you're weird…" he said as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm glad you guys are so solid now though." he leaned against the couch, crossing his arms. "I think you guys are going to get married."

The word "married" made Sebastian's heart leap through his stomach. The rest of the night, Sebastian couldn't stop thinking about it, and while it consumed his thoughts, he didn't think that it was a bad thing.


	23. Chapter 23 - Be Careful

Chapter 23

After a long few weeks, it was summer. Sebastian had moved into Sasha's house, and now worked from there. Often he helped her with bigger jobs, but he worked mainly on his computer. He was working now. He sat up and stretched his arms. The house was cool, but his normal outfit was still a t-shirt and shorts. He looked through the window. Sasha was sat outside, sweating from the heat in shorts and a halter top.

Later that day, after working, they had lunch and headed to Pierre's store to buy groceries. They thought that the day would be good. Abigail was returning from rehab, and they decided that it wasn't a big deal after all, putting the ordeal to rest. They were having her and Sam over for dinner later that day, and there was still much to do before they arrived. When they arrived at home, a shuddering feeling came over Sasha as she noticed a small, thick envelope on the ground, with nothing written on it. Sebastian set down the groceries and walked over to Sasha, having had noticed her holding it.

"I-I don't wanna open it…" she said, scared that she already knew what it was.

Sebastian squeezed her hand, and took the envelope from her. His hands trembled as he tore open the letter. Inside, was a stack of printed photos. There was a post-it note attached, with the words "Sasha? Aren't you going to wait for me?" written on it in messy handwriting. His whole body started shaking as he flipped through the photos. Each one was of them sleeping together, even from the first time. The last one scared him the most though.

The last one was from earlier that day, but it was taken from inside the house.

Sebastian showed her only the last photo and the note, ripping up the rest and throwing them on the floor.

"Sasha…this is getting serious…we need to find whatever this fucking thing is, because it's targeting you and it's not letting up." he said. "God, this all feels like a some sort of movie."

Sebastian paced around, only just noticing the silent blank stare on her face again. Tears had welled up in her eyes.

"Sebastian…I'm gonna die." she said. She broke out of her trance, sobbing so violently that it felt like the house was shaking.

Sebastian rushed over to her, hugging her as tightly to himself as he could.

"Sasha, don't worry. I'm here, okay?" he paused. "I can't lose you."

She stopped crying suddenly, pulling away from his arms to look him in the eyes.

"I can't lose you, so you're going to have to stay strong, okay?" His voice was beginning to sound desperate. "You won't leave me, right?!"

She was taken aback by his voice. He was normally the strong one.

"Sebby, I can't be sure-"

"NO!" he shouted, pulling her back into his arms. "You're not leaving me."

"I might have to." she said. At this moment, Sebastian felt her shoulders shaking as she cried into his chest, and lost his sudden temper.

He wished that he could shout at her and scream that she was wrong again, but he knew what that would do to her, and he didn't want to fight.

Plus, he didn't know if she was wrong.


	24. Chapter 24 - Too Close

Chapter 24

Sebastian was sprinting through the forest, tears running down his face. It was dirty and his pants were ripped and covered in snow, but he didn't care, because that didn't matter anymore. Nothing else mattered.

 _Flashback to 30 minutes prior to incident_

It had been weeks since the letter, they had begun to forget about it again because nothing happened, and they didn't encounter anything strange since. They were hunting under the snow for a special type of plant that grew through winter, making it easier to find and could then be cooked into almost any dish to give an incredible taste. Their little green buds sometimes poked through the snow, which would hopefully lead to more, smaller seedlings. Sasha was bent over, digging up a small bud when she felt a dull pain in her back as compressed snow splattered across her jacket. She turned around to see Sebastian's arms full of perfectly round, packed snowballs. He aimed at her again, throwing one directly onto her head. Sasha shrieked and ran away, heading down the hill towards the frozen pond. She leaped forward, somersaulting down before getting up and hiding behind a tree. Sebastian tripped on a rock, dropping most of the snowballs. He scrambled to gather the surviving snowballs, before hearing an ear-splitting scream. He dropped everything and stood up, running towards the pond.

"SEBASTIAN!" Sasha cried out.

He looked to his right, only to see a faint black figure walking into the forest. He sprinted towards the forest, following the tracks it had left, but they came to an abrupt stop, and disappeared. He kept running, but couldn't compose himself. He kept screaming Sasha's name in sobs, falling over repeatedly, desperate to find her. Eventually, he entered out the end of the forest at Marnie's Barn. He ran back through the path towards her barn, making out the faint silhouette of two people standing at the front door.

" _Oh god."_ he thought " _Where did she go?"_

He approached the two people, making them out to be Sam and Abigail. They were talking and laughing, but horror spread across their faces as they saw the state he was in.

"S-Sebastian?! Dude, what's going on? Why are you all scratched up?" said Sam. There was a harsh concern in his voice.

Sebastian collapsed, panting on the ground. He could taste blood in his mouth as he coughed.

"Sss…" began Sebastian, unable to speak.

"Sss…Sasha?" said Abigail. Sam and Abigail looked at each other, with a mix of confusion and worry.

Sebastian sat up, finally catching his breath. Tears were still streaming down his face as he spoke.

"S-She was kidnapped…I think…" he began. He felt like his whole world had crashed down on him. He had let her down.

Abigail held her hand over her mouth as a sudden realization came across her.

"The last time that she was hurt…when you were running to the clinic with her in your arms…where was she coming from?" she said.

Sebastian shot up, running into the house and into the closet, where Sasha kept her backpack and sword. He threw in a pair of spare boots and ran out the door. As he was saddling up Epona, Sam and Abigail caught up to him, asking questions. "What? Why? When?" But he only answered one question.

"Sebastian, where the hell are you even going?" asked Sam, worriedly.

"The mines."

Abigail, even Sam gasped as this. Sebastian stepped onto Epona, before waving off to the two and riding at full speed. The two yelled after him, but he didn't respond. When he entered the cave, it was eerily silent and empty. He shivered in his sweatshirt as a cold breeze swept through the floor.

" _It must've been cleared from the last time she came down here…how long ago was that? 1, 2 weeks maybe?"_ he thought.

He kept working his way through the maze of layers. It got warmer as he progressed, getting closer to the lowest layer. Finally, he reached the staircase with a rusted-over sign that read "To level 120. Please proceed with caution." He pulled out the sword, slowly stepping down the stairs. The floor was extremely hot, and he heard a thick liquid bubbling around. He could feel his heart beating through his chest. He stepped into a large empty room, where alone, a figure stood. Thin, pale, and as Sasha said, deep red eyes.

"Ah, the... boy. I knew you would come." said the figure.

"What did you do with her?" said Sebastian, his voice wavering.

The man tossed Sebastian a photo. He scrambled to pick it up. In the photo, Sasha was lying on the ground, her body limp and bruised. He clothes were ripped and bloody.

He threw the photo into the lava nearby, sending a little trail of smoke upwards as it was eaten by the flames.

"Her grandfather used to have a stone…Now, this stone, quite closely resembled a tear. It was rather rare but he had one that didn't look just like a tear. It refracts rainbows in a way that no other tears do." hissed the figure. "I know she gave it to you, but I can't take you, because you have it, and its protective qualities guard against things like me."

"Well, what are you? Why not just take the stone? Leave her alone for god's sake!" yelled Sebastian.

"What I am isn't relevant, but I can't take it, you have to give it to me. What is relevant however is that I _know_ you have the stone with you right now, and if you don't give it to me… Well, something might happen to your precious little friend." Sebastian turned as a large door disguised with stones opened. Tied to the wall with chains, Sasha was lying weakly against the wall. As she opened her eyes and saw Sebastian, she struggled to get to her feet, completely drained and out of energy. She stood up and walked towards him slowly, stumbling over herself before being pulled back by the chains and tripping, falling to the ground.

"Sebastian…" she muttered. She got up again slowly, reaching towards him.

"Shut up!" said the figure. A rock lifted into thin air, and hurled towards her. It hit her, throwing her back into the wall and split apart, before she fell onto the ground with a soft _thud._

Sebastian stepped back from the figure, unable to believe what he was seeing. It felt like a video game.

" _None of this is real…"_ he thought to himself. He wished it wasn't.

Sasha slowly lifted herself off the ground, trying to catch her breath. Sebastian felt defeated, having to watch her get hurt and not be able to do anything.

"This is all too real boy. In a world with Junimos and magic, why don't you believe it? As I was saying…" said the figure, "That stone is mine now, okay? Hand it over, or she really will die."

Sebastian pulled the tear out of his pocket, looking into it before throwing it over the lava. Sasha scrambled to catch it before it landed in her hands. She she stood up again, still weak, and looked at Sebastian.

"You imbecile…" said the figure. "Now you're the one that will die."

"I thought I might like you…I guess I was wrong." he hissed at him.

Sebastian looked over at Sasha. She stood there, looking at the small tear in her hand. Using all of her energy, she threw it back over. Just as the figure flicked his wrist, the lava hurled towards him as Sebastian picked up the stone. The lava hit, and he stood there, unharmed.

"You little…" the figure began speaking. "Okay you two. This game is up now." A new ball of lava formed, growing double the size of Sebastian.

Sebastian looked over at Sasha who smiled at him before collapsing for the last time.

The creature frowned as Sebastian ran to a nearby lake, filled with lava.

"This ends now." said Sebastian, but before he dropped the stone onto the ground to crush, he thought of something.

 _"This thing will just use it's power to take the stone, I need to draw it's attention somewhere else..."_

Sasha opened her eyes again, standing up as she saw Sebastian trying to distract the figure.

"Stop!" she screamed. The figure turned towards her, lifting a boulder from the ground, giving Sebastian enough time to drop the stone on the ground and destroy it. He kicked the remaining pieces into the lava, watching them dissipate into smoke. The figure hissed and screamed, and as quickly as it had begun, it was over. The figure was gone.

The room went silent as the lava dissolved and the chains holding her back dissipated into thin air. Sasha collapsed, falling unconscious as Sebastian ran to her side. There was a brief silence before he picked her up, rushing to get her out of the mines. She woke up half-way through, determined to walk up herself, but collapsed upon trying again. Sebastian threw her over his shoulder, using all of his strength to get out. Eventually, a light appeared, and grew brighter as he worked upwards. He gasped for air, pausing briefly before exiting the cave and gently placing her on Epona. He held her on his lap as he rode into town. Once again, Sam and Abigail followed him into the clinic. When she was rolled in, Sebastian collapsed on the floor, coughing madly. He couldn't believe that he had escaped the whole ordeal without a scratch. The whole situation was a lot for him to comprehend; he couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt.

"Dude, what happened?!" said Sam.

"It's too long of a story to explain." said Sebastian as his breathing steadied.

After hours of waiting, Maru stepped out from the room. Sebastian shot up. She took a look at him and frowned. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and his hair was ruffled and messy.

"Sebastian…you really should go home. It's late and Sasha is resting now." said Maru. She had a concerned look on her face.

"No…" he said, yawning mid-sentence. "Is she okay?"

"Well...There is something odd happening with her heart…We've stabilized it now, but she's extremely weak, and if anything happens to her, you need to bring her in, okay? I'll give you a list of symptoms to watch out for."

Sebastian's heart sank.

"I'd like to see her…please…" he said.

"I'm not sure if that's a good id-" began Maru, getting cut off.

"I want to see her." said Sebastian in a firm tone.

Maru nodded and held open the door as he rushed past her. The room was all too familiar to him. Sasha was lying flat on the bed, asleep with a hint of worry in her expression. He sat next to her in the empty room and brushed his hand against her cheek. She was incredibly pale, and her face looked hollow. There was no color in her usually pink cheeks.

"Sebastian. You need to leave. It's time you got some rest." said Maru.

Sebastian refused for some time, but after some persuasion, she got him to leave. As he walked home, he scanned the list of possible symptoms that could occur, each one piercing his heart.

" _High fever…Fainting Spells…Weakness…"_

" _Why are these all so horrible? What did she do to deserve this?"_ he thought to himself.

Finally, he reached the house, unlocking the door and stepping in to be greeted by Honey. He didn't bother brushing his hair or teeth, just changed into clean clothes and jumped into bed. Even though he was tired, he couldn't sleep. He kept staring at the empty space where she would normally lie. He got back out and retrieved a photo of her that he kept in his wallet. It was taken a few weeks prior in the snow. Her nose and cheeks were pink, and she was wrapped in a scarf, with snowflakes in her hair. He smiled at the photo, clutching it close to his chest as he fell into a long slumber.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry this chapter is kind of ridiculous, I couldn't help myself (lol.)I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, I've got a lot planned…


	25. Chapter 25 - Re-Cover

Chapter 25

The next morning, Sebastian woke up early and made lunch for Sasha. He headed over to the clinic at noon in a hurry, desperate to see how she was doing. When he entered, Maru was at the counter, filling out paperwork.

"Oh, Sebby…Sasha had a relapse last night. We had to perform emergency surgery on her heart to fix a pump that wasn't functioning properly. Luckily, it went well, and she should recover eventually, but she's not going to be able to work for a while. You'll be able to take her home in a few days. Also, she might still be under anesthetics, so don't necessarily expect her to be awake just yet."

Sebastian frowned and hurried through the hallway to see her. She was lying there, awake, and watching the news.

" _God she must hate this."_ thought Sebastian.

She looked over as he entered, smiling weakly and struggling to sit up.

"Wait! Let me help." he said, walking over to adjust the bed and pillows. "Better now?"

"Mhm." she said. She spoke quietly, almost in whispers. "I missed you…its very boring here. I wanna go home."

Sebastian nodded along as she spoke, stroking her limp hand.

"I thought you wouldn't like it. Do you want me to bring anything?" he asked.

"No, it's fine, I don't wanna be an inconvenience." she said.

"What? You're not an inconvenience. I'll take care of you, please don't worry about being inconvenient." he said in a gentle voice. "In fact, I made lunch for you. Are you hungry? I don't know how good the food is here..."

She nodded and smiled. He handed her the warm thermos, watching her hands tremble as she ate. When she was finished, she turned to him, taking his hand.

"Thank you Sebby." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry I had to drag you through this."

"Hey, don't cry! I don't mind at all Sasha. You're the one that paid the price, not Me." he said, wiping her face. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Sasha frowned but obliged, waving to him as he left. Sebastian walked back home, and immediately began making cookies. As they baked, he packed up a bunch of comic books, a console, some games and DVDs. He threw everything in a big canvas bag, placing the warm Tupperware on top. He trotted back to the clinic with the large bag, but when he arrived, Sasha was asleep. He found this the perfect opportunity to set up everything. After he was finished, he walked over to Sasha. He kissed her on the forehead, about to leave, when she woke up.

"Oh, Sebby…I'm sorry. I tried to stay awake but-" she began, gasping as she turned to see everything set up neatly. "You didn't…"

"You said you were bored…I hope this helps." he said. "I'll be here every day until you get discharged, okay? I'm glad the surgery went well, and they said you should be able to leave soon."

She smiled, squeezing his hand gently.

"Can we watch a movie?" she said. He nodded, walking over to the table to read out the options. After they chose a cheesy romantic-comedy, Sebastian was about to sit down on the chair next to her bed when she patted an empty space next to him.

"Come here…please?" she said. "I need a hug…"

"Okay, I just don't wanna hurt you…" he said. He hesitantly perched on the edge, carefully lying next to her. It was difficult for him to lie there without hitting any wires. "Alright, I think we're good."

She wrapped her cold arms around his torso, taking in his body warmth. The moment didn't last long however, as Sebastian noticed her breathing grow rough and uneven. She soon doubled up coughing, sitting up as he rubbed her back.

"Hey, you okay?" he said. "Should I call Maru?"

She leaned back against his shoulder, breathing heavily.

"No, I'm fine." said Sasha. Sebastian waited a moment, but her breathing didn't slow. She sighed out, trying to catch her breath but failing after several attempts. She began coughing violently again, leading Sebastian to press the "Call Assistant" button on the back of the bed. Shortly after, Maru appeared at the door. She took one look at Sasha and disappeared into a side room, returning with a small brown jar.

"You can hold her hand while I give her the medicine." said Maru. Sebastian nodded and took Sasha's hand as she leaned back against him. "Can you hand me the bottle on the table?"

Maru opened the bottle, revealing a dark brown liquid. She carefully measured out a dose of the liquid in a small measuring cup. Sebastian took the cup from Maru, holding it up to Sasha's lips for her to drink. Her coughing stopped almost immediately.

"Now, this is the tough part, but we are going to have to give her some anesthesia to help her breathing and heart rate return to normal. It's sort of a "calming process" that helps a lot of patients." said Maru, frowning. She disappeared again, returning with a small machine and mask. She rolled the machine next to the bed, handing the mask to Sebastian. "It's not easy to do, I know."

He looked at Sasha, who was nearly asleep on his shoulder, then back at Maru. She gave him a sympathetic look, and nodded her head. He stretched the elastic over her head, placing the mask on her face. Maru flipped a switch and counted down. Her eyebrows furrowed as she took in the gas. Sebastian's heart sunk as he saw her tighten up in pain. Her eyes fluttered as she drifted off, and after a few seconds, Maru flipped the switch again. Sebastian took the mask off of her face gently, squeezing her tight before laying her down on the table. Maru exited the room, leaving Sebastian alone again with her. He sat, stroking her hair and cheek. After waiting for a while, he left, walking outside. He bought a pack of cigarettes from Pierre, smoking nearly half of them before returning inside. Maru lifted her head and wrinkled her nose at the smell, shaking her head before returning to her paperwork. As he was about to enter the door to go back to the room, Maru spoke.

"She woke up you know. She asked where you were." she said, not even lifting her head to meet Sebastian's eyes.

He turned his back to her, pushing the door open and walking through the cold hallway to her room. Her hands were folded in her lap, just sitting in silence. She looked like she had a bit of color in her face now, as if she had a bit more strength. He pushed the door open, and she lifted her head and smiled to greet him again.

"Hey Sebby! Did you get dinner? I want you to still stay healthy while I'm here." she said, weakly. She stretched out her arms to hug him, but as he got closer, she lowered them, her smile disappearing. "Did you smoke?"

He blushed and stopped, running his hands through his hair.

"Yeah…" he said. "I've been worried about you."

She looked him in the eyes worriedly, but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry. I know you hated when I did it, but I…" he began. "Don't be mad."

He began rushing towards her and hugging her. After a moment, she accepted it and hugged him back.

"Please be careful."


	26. Chapter 26 - Aggressive

Chapter 26

Surely enough, Sasha was discharged the next month. Maru gave Sebastian strict instructions for caring for her, giving him a different list of symptoms to look out for as well. Sebastian had to roll her home in a wheelchair, as she was too weak to walk.

"Hey Sasha…" said Sebastian. "I'm grateful that this is over. I'm so glad you're finally safe." Sasha turned her head to him, smiling and patting his hand. When they got home, he held her hand as she struggled to walk into the house. She sat down on the bed, kicking her feet up onto the mattress before falling asleep. It was late, so Sebastian cleaned up and climbed into the bed shortly after. He watched her sleep for a while, watching her eyelashes flutter as she breathed steadily. Soon enough, he fell asleep too.

The next morning, Sasha woke up to an empty bed. She could hear Sebastian cooking in the room next door. She took her t-shirt off and pulled on a fleece robe, as the cotton hurt when it grazed over the scar on her chest. She walked into the kitchen slowly, using the wall as support to walk steadily. Sebastian glanced over his shoulder at her before quickly wiping his hands on a nearby towel and rushing over to help her.

"I didn't hear you wake up!" he said. "I was going to check on you just now…"

"It's fine Sebby, really. I'm not that weak…" she began saying, but her knees buckled and she almost fell. Sebastian caught her and wrapped his arm around her as he walked her to the kitchen table.

"Oh really?" he said, smiling. He handed her a small bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice. "Here, eat breakfast; you need to have some energy."

He stood up and cleaned up the rest of the dishes. He glanced over his shoulder at her again, but she was leaning back in the chair and her face was pale. He quickly grabbed the nearby wastebasket and held it in front of her as she emptied her breakfast into it, rubbing her back gently as she keeled over.

"Oh no…The oatmeal was probably too rich for you right now. I'm sorry." he said quietly.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, taking a sip of orange juice.

"It's okay Sebby, I'm fine now." she said, smiling. "For what it's worth, it was really good."

* * *

Weeks passed and slowly, Sasha regained her strength. Finally, she was able to return to her normal life and took over the farm again. After a week or so after Sebastian had returned back to work on his computer, he was sitting at his desk when his phone buzzed in his pants pocket. It was a text from Sam.

"Hey dude! I got a promo at work, me and Abigail are gonna celebrate at the bar, wanna join? If Sasha feels up to it she's welcome to join too!"

"Sure, Sasha's been great lately, so I'm sure she won't mind." he replied.

He walked downstairs to see Sasha in the kitchen reaching into the fridge. She pulled out a carton of orange juice and smiled to greet him.

"Hey! Taking a break from work?" she said. He nodded in response.

"Would you mind if I went out with Sam and Abigail to the Saloon tonight? He offered for you to come with but you don't have to. He got a promotion at work."

"That sounds great! I'm finished with work, I'll start getting ready, okay?" she said, smiling and walking towards the bathroom.

When they arrived inside the Saloon, it was crowded and everyone from the town was there. They managed to walk towards the table that Sam and Abigail were sitting at. Once everyone had finished eating, Sam began challenging Sebastian to drinks. Sasha didn't want to join, only drinking a small amount of wine.

"So, Hoorayyyy to me for getting that job guys? I must be pret-ty gooood." yelled Sam, slurring his words. "I don't know why I'm still single. I could get a girlfriend, right Sebastian?" Abigail blushed.

"Sure Sam. But look at me." said Sebastian. He wasn't slurring as much. He reached his arm around Sasha, grabbing her shoulder. She crumpled slightly and pushed his hand off. "I've got the most beautiful girlfriend ever."

He looked her in the eyes for a moment before leaning in and aggressively kissing her on the cheek.

"You goddamn lovebirds!" said Sam. "Y-you can't keep your hands off her!"

Sasha stood up and pushed her chair in.

"I'm leaving." she said. "Sebastian, call me when you're sober please."

She walked away from the table, and left the Saloon. Sebastian was about to follow her but Sam stopped him and handed him another shot glass.

"Don't worry dude. She's fineee." he said.

Sebastian took the shot, then another, then another until he was completely wasted. Slowly, he forgot about Sasha.

* * *

Sebastian woke up the next morning, surprised to be in his old bed, still in his clothes from last night. He groaned as he dragged his hung-over self up to sit on the bed. He rubbed his eyes and forehead as he remembered what had happened.

"Fuck…" he thought. "What did I do? She must think I'm an ass for getting so drunk."

He walked upstairs and made coffee, staring out the window and leaning against the counter as he watched it rain. The house was empty and quiet. He took a painkiller and threw his shoes on before grabbing an umbrella and opened the door. He walked quickly to Sasha's house and ran up the steps to her door. He knocked a few times, but she didn't respond. He sat on the steps of her porch waiting for her. Eventually, she emerged from the house, surprised to see him still sitting there.

"Hello." she said sourly. "I've got work to do you know."

He stood up and followed her as she walked towards the silo. She didn't normally work when it was raining.

"I'm sorry for getting so drunk last night Sasha. You know Sam…" he said.

"It's not Sam's fault, and even so I'm not that upset about you getting drunk." she said, not looking at him. She put on some gloves and opened up a bale of hay.

"Huh? Well then what are you mad about?" he said. He was confused now, playing back the night in his head. He admitted to being stupid for getting so wasted, but other than that he couldn't think of a reason. She paused, taking her gloves off and looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"Seriously? If you don't know, figure it out." she said. "Now please, it's almost summer. I need to prep for the next season, so if you wouldn't mind-"

Sebastian hugged her close, interrupting her sentence.

"I'm sorry." he said. His voice was soft now. "I feel like I should know, but it seems so trivial to me. I know I've done something wrong, but I can't put my finger on it. Please don't be mad."

Sasha sighed and pushed him away, stepping back and hugging herself. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I-I don't like it when you touch me so aggressively." she said. Suddenly it made sense to him. "When kept touching me like that, and kissing my cheek so violently…It made me embarrassed. I felt like I was being..."

Sasha spoke quietly, looking at the ground. She felt him taking her hands, looking down to see him kissing them softly.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Can you forgive me?" he said. He was crouched down, lower than her. She softened, kneeling down to wrap her arms around his neck. He buried his face in her shoulders, sighing in relief.

"I'm still mad you know." she said softly.

"I know. You have the right to be. I'll sleep at my mom's place tonight okay?" said Sebastian.

She released herself from his arms, looking in his eyes and brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Don't…I missed you." She paused, choking on her words. "I was scared on my own. I know I shouldn't be but…"

Sebastian's frowned. He forgot. He pulled her close again, putting her on his lap. He wrapped his arms closely around her as she cried quietly into his chest.

"I'm pathetic…" she whispered.

His heart sunk as he stroked her back. She was trembling.

"Please don't say that. I know you've been through a lot." he paused. "I think we need to have Honey trained though. Then she can at least help you if I'm not here to comfort you. It sounds dramatic but-"

"I-I think you're right." she squeezed his waist and sighed. He ran his hands up her back and kissed her again.

"You'll be okay. I promise."


	27. Chapter 27 - Oops

Chapter 27

Sasha sent Honey off for the next month, where she would be trained as a support dog. Sebastian and Sasha spent the day cooking for dinner with Sam and Abigail.

"Hey Sebby, can you grab the nutmeg?" said Sasha, stirring a large pot of soup. He nodded, and rummaged around the kitchen, but couldn't find any.

"I think we ran out…" he said, frowning at a spice rack.

"Shoot. Do you have some at your old house? I don't want to invade, but I think it will really bring the flavor out." She walked over to the oven and peeked through the glass at a loaf of bread that was baking.

"My Mom probably does, I'll be right back. Will you be okay for a little bit?" he said, putting on his motorcycle helmet.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me."

Sebastian rode to his house, stopping abruptly at the door. He saw Robin watering the window boxes out front, wearing a widely brimmed straw hat.

"Hey Mom." he said. She turned and smiled at him, putting down the watering can to give him a hug.

"Hello sweetie, come inside, I just finished some cookies that I want you to take back to Sasha. You told me she was having a hard time."

They walked into the house, with a scent of cinnamon wafting through the air. Robin handed Sebastian the nutmeg and they talked as she packed the cookies into a Tupperware container. He was about to leave when Robin stopped him.

"Sebastian…" she said softly. "You know Peter right? The guy who hangs around the beach during rainy days? Well I was helping him with materials, and he gave me this as a thank you…"

She held out a carefully wrapped cloth. Inside was a beautiful shell that was tinted green and blue, tied to a black string. The inside looked like opal, reflecting rainbows across the walls.

"I think…you should give this to Sasha. I know you don't want to pressure her, but…you two are meant to be."

Sebastian stayed silent, wrapping the shell in the cloth again. He smiled at her and put it in his shirt pocket. His stomach knotted as he thought of asking her.

"I think so too."

He rode back to the house, feeling hot with excitement.

He got to the house and walked inside, placing the cookies on the countertop. Sebastian handed her the nutmeg, watching her sprinkle it into the soup. She stirred it around for a few minutes as Sebastian walked into their bedroom. He opened up a locked box that he had gotten from his father and placed the shell inside. When he returned to the kitchen, Sasha held a spoon up to his mouth.

"Taste it!" she said. He took the spoon from her, sipping the soup. It really was delicious. The nutmeg added an extra undertone of flavor.

"It's really good…" he said, nodding his head. She grinned widely, returning to the soup to bring down the heat. Sebastian took the bread out of the oven, holding it out for her to sprinkle flour on, but when she wiped her face, she ended up with it all over her cheeks. As he noticed this, he started giggling madly.

"What's up?" she said. She started blushing as she realized he was looking at her. She pouted and crossed her arms, confused at his laughter. "What?! Stop laughing!"

"Hee hee…Hold on…" he said. He walked over to her, wiping the flour off of her face and fixing her hair. When they were done with dinner, Sasha began cleaning the kitchen, and Sebastian went outside to set the table. As he was finishing up, he leaned against the table, watching her through the window. He smiled, thinking of different ways he might ask her, but wasn't sure how.

They heard a knock on the open front door, smiling at Sam and Abigail. They dished up in the kitchen, walking out to the porch to eat. Sam stopped Sebastian as he was about to go outside.

"Dude, we've got to talk later, okay?" said Sam. "Not now though, come over tomorrow okay?"

Sebastian nodded and headed outside. The seriousness of Sam's voice worried him, and once or twice he saw him frown at Abigail, but soon enough, he forgot about the confrontation.

The next day, Sebastian woke to sunlight streaming through the window. He hadn't slept well, only dozing off every once in a while. Sasha had her arms wrapped around him, and was still asleep. Sebastian's phone buzzed on his nightstand, but when he went to reach it, Sasha un-wrapped her arms and rolled over. He frowned, but opened his text messages.

"Meet me at the pier in 10 minutes."

It was a message from Sam. He groaned and rolled out of bed, throwing on some clothes before straddling his motorcycle and riding off. He arrived on time, but Sam was already there, pacing the empty boardwalk. Sebastian took off his helmet and sighed when Sam walked over to greet him.

"Okay, so why did you drag me out of bed?" said Sebastian. He desperately wanted to be back at home, cuddling with Sasha.

"I slept with Abby."


	28. Chapter 28 - Bloom some more

Chapter 28

"Wait…" said Sebastian. His eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

"Well, you know when we got drunk after my promotion? After you went back to your Mom's place, me and Abby started fooling around near the lake…"

"Oh god…" Sebastian sighed. "Are you dating now?"

Sam shook his head.

"What…happened?" said Sebastian.

"Well she gave me head and I-" began Sam.

"NO GOD. No, I meant _how_ did it happen?" said Sebastian, wrinkling his nose.

"Well, we were both really drunk and ended up talking about how we hadn't…had sex with anyone in a while…" he said, blushing. "I haven't gone down to the city on a date in ages. Anyway, we kissed for a bit, and she slid her hand down my pants…"

"Oof…" said Sebastian. "Are you guys considering any sort of relationship?"

"Well, we were talking about it, but I don't know what's going on right now."

"I don't know what to say Sam…good for you?" he shook his head. "Don't ruin your friendship though."

"Dude, I also have got so say, I see what you meant… She gets to a state when she's drunk. She almost gets desperate and if you stop…" said Sam, drifting off.

"I know. She came onto me a while ago, just after me and Sasha had a fight." said Sebastian quietly.

"Well…" whispered Sam. "Actually, never mind."

"What? Did she say my name or something because if she did-"

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just that after we had sex, she kept saying that…I was better than you?"

Sebastian sighed in relief, then smiled.

"Thank god. She's over me." he looked up at Sam. "I think you will make a good match honestly. Despite her mistakes with me, maybe she has learned."

Sam's eyes widened.

"So, you're okay?!" he exclaimed. "That's great, dude. I didn't want this to ruin anything. She was pretty loving the whole time too at least. It was better than what you described it as."

"Okay Sam, calm down with the details, I don't need to hear that. I'm going home. See you around."

He smiled and waved at Sam before getting on his motorcycle and riding off. When he got back, Sasha was lying in the bed still, playing on a DS. He took his jeans and jacket off, collapsing onto the bed with her. She turned the console off and wrapped her legs around him. She loved how he was always warm. He kissed her neck, provoking a giggle as his stubble grazed her neck. When he pulled away, she smiled.

"Where did you go?" she said, frowning. "I got cold!"

"Sam texted me to meet up with him." he paused for a second. "He…slept with Abigail."

"What?! Wow. Can't say I'm too surprised though!" she said giggling. He smirked, but his smile disappeared. Sasha noticed this, and took a good look at his face. He had dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Sebby? Are you okay?" She brought her hand up to his cheek, stroking his face softly.

"Yes…no…" he said. He closed his eyes and sighed. "To be honest, I haven't slept much in the past few days. I've been using some of your foundation to cover up the dark circles. Sorry…"

"I have foundation? I haven't been wearing makeup since I moved here. It must be super old." she frowned as he opened his eyes again. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"I worry about you. I don't ever want you to feel scared. If you wake up at night feeling upset or something and I'm not awake I know you won't wake me up because you're too sweet, so I make sure that I'm there for you. Just a few nights ago you were squeezing my waist really hard and talking in your sleep. It took me hours to settle you down and that's why I worry."

Sasha was touched by this, but worry overcame her affection.

"Sebastian…that's not healthy! You're going to hurt yourself if you do that." she got up and closed the blinds.

"I look bad, don't I?" he said dejectedly.

"Yeah." she whispered. "Really bad."

She paused and turned around, looking at his cold eyes.

"Please…god… get some sleep. I'll stay here if it makes you feel better but you have to rest."

Sebastian nodded and collapsed back onto the pillow. It only took a few minutes before he fell asleep. She picked up the DS again and grabbed a pair of headphones, lying under the sheets next to his still body. She didn't get a chance to even start it up before he opened his eyes again.

"No…Seb…" she put them down and scooted downwards so that they were lying face to face.

"I'm sorry." He yawned and gazed into her eyes. She ran her hands through his hair, which had grown quite long.

"I remember when you first confessed…" Sasha spoke softly. "You have no idea how happy I was. When you kissed me like that I felt like I was flying."

Sebastian smiled and closed his eyes. "Say more happy things…"

Sasha went on for a little while longer speaking about how much fun they had together.

"They jellyfish festival was one of my favorite memories…" It was at this time that she had noticed that he had fallen asleep. She rubbed his back and smiled.

"Because that's the moment that I knew that I wanted to spend my life with you." She paused, watching no reaction escape from him whatsoever.

"I want to marry you, but how do I say that?" she whispered. "I don't have the confidence."

" _What if he turns me down?"_ she thought.

Sebastian woke up a few hours later, surprised to see Sasha lying there still and staring at the roof.

"Hey there." he said softly.

"Oh, I didn't notice you woke up." she said. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her torso.

"Sebastian, do I deserve you?" she said suddenly, breaking the quick silence.

"Why do you ask? I'm the one that should be questioning that about you!"

"I'm serious. I feel like you're the one always taking care of me. I didn't even know you were sleep deprived!" She turned to face him. " _He looks better at least."_

"I hid it though, that was my fault." he said sulkily.

"Sebastian, you know I'm right. All I ever do is sit and wait for you to help me along like I'm some princess. I thought you were fine, but I was too selfish to ask myself if you truly were. I haven't been there for you, and now I've done nothing."

Sebastian frowned, speechless.

"Sasha…" he said.

"No, listen…I'm just worried that I'm going to lose you and that I'm not enough for you because honestly, I'm not enough for you."

Sebastian lifted his hand up to her cheek.

"You've been through a lot Sasha…" he said, "I don't want you to get hurt somehow."

"But I won't. I'm stronger now." she frowned. "Let me help you, okay? If you're not feeling well, or are tired or something, please just tell me."

"Okay." he said, still exhausted.

"But Sasha, you know, you are way more than I could've ever asked for."


	29. Chapter 29 - I've missed this

Chapter 29

During the night, Sasha kept a close eye on Sebastian. She made him promise to wake her up if he couldn't sleep. Luckily, he only woke up once, and slept well the rest of the night. The next morning, they got up late and made breakfast. Sebastian set the table as she flipped pancakes. After he finished eating, he watched her, smiling as he rested his head on his arm. She looked up, startled.

"What?!" she said, giggling. "Why are you watching me?"

"You're so pretty. You know that, right?" he said.

Her eyes widened as she blushed, setting down her fork and knife. She didn't know what to say, stuttering her words. He chuckled.

"It's true, you're gorgeous." he said. "I kind of look like a troll, how did you fall for me?!"

She giggled this time.

"I saw you when you and Sam and Abby came to introduce yourselves. You were so shy and handsome. It was pretty much love at first sight."

He grinned. "Hey, you know there is a bathhouse kind of near my mom's house, right?"

Sasha spat out her drink.

"What?! I love swimming, why didn't you tell me this!?" she said.

"I thought you knew! It's on the map…"

"WHAT?!" she yelled.

She ran over to her backpack, bringing back a rolled up map. She looked, but didn't see it.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"It's that small building near the train station." he leaned over the table, pointing at a picture of a building. "I see it's not labeled here, maybe that's why. Not many people use it, especially later in the day time, but it's a really nice place."

"Can we go today?" she asked. "I've got some errands I need to run, but we can meet there around 8."

"It's a date."

* * *

Later that day, Sebastian and Sasha met up at the bathhouse. They went in and changed, but Sebastian was already in the pool by the time Sasha got out.

"It's freezing in the changing rooms!" said Sasha.

"Why do you think I didn't wait? The pool is heated, jump in!" said Sebastian.

Sasha walked over, dipping her foot in, she turned her back to the edge of the water, heading over to the pool ladder. Suddenly, she turned back again, running towards the pool and cannon-balling in, soaking Sebastian with water. He swam over to her as she surfaced, splashing her with water in response. They played around in the water until they got tired, eventually moving over to the smaller hot-tub to relax. Sebastian wrapped his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder. Their bodies felt different when they were this close underwater.

"This was fun Sebby; I'm glad you told me about this place." she said.

"Yeah." he said. His heart began pounding in his chest. "Sasha?"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever think about your future?" he said. His heart thumped loudly.

Sasha paused before she spoke.

"All the time." she said quietly.

"A-am I…in it?" he said.

Sasha blushed and turned to look at him. She moved closer to him, straddling him as she sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately on the lips before she spoke.

"Yeah." she whispered.

Eventually, they got out of the pool and headed to the dressing rooms. Sasha sat down in her swimsuit, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. She heard footsteps, and a knock on the wall. She opened her eyes and saw Sebastian standing there, still in his swimsuit too.

"I couldn't bring myself to get dressed." he said.

She stood up again, walking over to him and kissing him on the lips. He hugged her body tightly as she ran her hands through his hair. The innocent kissing soon turned into a full-fledged make out session. As soon as she felt him against her torso, they moved to the shower room, stripping each other down quickly.

* * *

When they were finished, they covered themselves with towels and changed into normal clothes. Sebastian waited for Sasha outside of the dressing rooms, holding his hand out to her. As they walked back home, Sasha noticed Sebastian suddenly look up, as if he remembered something. Then, she realized what.

"Sebby?" she said.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"It's…your dad's birthday tomorrow…isn't it?" she said quietly.

Sebastian stopped walking and looked up at the night sky.

"Yeah." he said finally, letting go of her hand and dropping his to his side.

"S-Sebastian?" said Sasha again. Her voice wavered as she turned to face him. She could tell he was upset.

"Yeah?" he said. He choked as he tried to speak.

"Y-you're hurting inside, aren't you?" she said, near tears. He turned to her. Sasha could now clearly see the tears rolling down his face in the moonlight.

"Yeah. I Am." he said. He wasn't holding back anymore. "Really badly."

Sasha pulled him down, wrapping her arms around his neck as he collapsed, sobbing.

"Y-you don't understand how much I miss him Sasha…I can't take it anymore…" he said. "Sometimes, I just want to give up, b-but then I remember you…You're the beacon of hope for me…"

"Sebby…I'm here for you…please don't think like that…"

It was like something in Sebastian had snapped, and he couldn't stop crying. After half an hour, he slowed down. Sasha pulled him up and leaned him on her shoulder, making sure he felt safe. When they got home, she ran a bath for him and helped him clean up. By the time he was lying on the bed in his pajamas, he was exhausted, and Sasha did her best to make him feel better.

"I don't think I can cry anymore Sasha." he said.

"Oh…Sebby." she said. She gave him a sympathetic look and sat down next to him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're here though." he said. "I've never had this sort of support from someone."

Sasha took his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm beginning to move on...it just takes time...please don't give up on me." he said, defeatedly.

"Never."

The next morning, Sasha woke to see Sebastian sitting upright on their bed. It was late in the morning.

"Sasha…" said Sebastian. "I'm going to take a walk…"

"Oh...Um, I suppose you'd like to go alone…" she said. Her expression fell as she sighed.

"Yeah. Please don't worry, I just need some time to my thoughts." he said, turning to face her.

"That's okay, I understand. Go get ready." she said.

Sebastian headed upstairs to the bathroom, but after he cleaned up and gotten ready to leave, Sasha had left. There was a backpack sitting on the dining room table, and a note. Sebastian opened up the backpack and spotted muffins and a flask of milk. The note read:

 _"Have a good walk Sebby! I'm getting some work done in the farm. I'll make a special dinner for us tonight! xx"_

He smiled at her curly handwriting and stuck the note in his pocket.

Meanwhile, Sasha was hard at work in the farm. She planted a full crop of plants and began to feed her animals. It was only much later when she noticed him return.

She stood up and dusted her pants, waving at him. When he saw her, he grinned and ran over. Sasha was happy to see that he was feeling better. When he reached her, he pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hey! Feeling better?" she said.

"Much. I talked to my mom at the end of my walk, and she helped me to get back on my feet." he said.

Sasha pulled away and took hold of his face, bringing it close towards her. She inspected him, glad to see that he didn't have any dark circles.

" _Thank goodness."_ she thought. _"He looks like his normal self again…he's so…handsome…"_

She blushed and let go quickly. Sebastian smirked.

"Do I look better now? I shaved too, so I don't have such bad stubble." he said.

"Yeah…" said Sasha, gazing into his eyes. She tried to speak, but found that she was stuttering.

" _She's flustered."_ he thought. _"How sweet. She looks adorable when she blushes."_

Sebastian found himself blushing now too.

"It's uh, getting kind of late. Do you want to go inside?" he said finally.

"Mhm." said Sasha. They began walking back to the house. She opened the door and Sebastian was hit with a wave of heavenly smells.

"Holy hell! That smells amazing!" exclaimed Sebastian.

Sasha giggled, pulling home-made bread and stew out of the oven.

"I tried a new recipe, and I think it turned out well…"

As they dished up their food, Sebastian caught Sasha staring at him on a few occasions. It wasn't until after dinner that he confronted her about it.

"What's up cutie?" he said. She flinched, being caught off guard by the nickname. "You keep staring at me."

"Uhm...I don't wanna tell you." said Sasha. Her cheeks were flushed red, and Sebastian chuckled.

"Is something wrong? Am I so fucking ugly that you jus-"

"No!" she said, cutting him off. Sebastian frowned. "Uh...its just...i'm not really sure why, but i'm getting really nervous around you..."

Sebastian smirked, standing up and acting as if he was going to clear his plate, but the moment he set his plate down behind her, he dashed to her chair, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.

"You don't have to be." he whispered. His warm breath sent a shiver down Sasha's body. She let out a sigh as he continued to kiss her neck.

"You're so...handsome though. All I can think about is you, Sebby..."

Sebastian felt himself blush as Sasha spoke.

"Do you want to...?" said Sebastian.

"No, I don't, which is why i'm so confused." she said. "All I want is to just...be with you. That feeling of holding you after we sleep together is so euphoric to me."

"Then why don't we?" said Sebastian. "Why don't we just strip down and cuddle?"

She giggled. She could feel herself relaxing. She had no reason to feel self-concious.

After they cleaned the kitchen, they got ready for bed, shut all the drapes and stripped down to nothing.

It had been a while since Sasha had been able to lie with him like this. She missed it. Sebastian hadn't realized how much he missed it too.

They'd been so caught up with everything going on that they had forgotten how it felt to just...

Love.


	30. Chapter 30 - Birthday Present

Chapter 30

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello everyone! I hope you've all been enjoying the story so far!

I'm sorry I had such a long Hiatus. I just needed a break from writing, but i'm back for now, and I've got a lot of ideas!

I'd also like to thank all of you for reading my story! (It's a dream of mine to someday draw it/have it drawn in a webtoon form!)

Finally i'd like to say, if anyone has ANY suggestions or ideas for the story, leave a review, or message me! I'm totally down to include your ideas in my writing. I've got a lot planned thus far*, but if you guys want to see anything happen in the story, let me know!

*Psst! I actually write my chapters a LONG time in advance before I publish them, so that I can come back and re-write anything I don't like!

Thank you for being patient, everyone! Now, enjoy the rest of this chapter!

* * *

After sleeping peacefully next to Sebastian, Sasha woke early from a deep slumber, with her arms still wrapped around his bare torso. As she stretched her arms and yawned, she remembered something important that they had missed through all the commotion.

" _Oh no. I completely forgot about Sebastian's birthday!"_ she thought. She looked over her shoulder at him, still sleeping, and admired his face. " _He really deserves something special. After all he did for me,I wonder what I can do for him."_

After getting up and getting dressed, she laid back down on the bed, staring at his face, when he woke up.

"Hey." he said, smiling. "Were you up for long?"

"No, but I got dressed." she said, giggling. "Remember, you don't have anything on under those sheets."

She stood up and turned around. As he sat up on the bed, she couldn't help but admire is chiseled body.

" _I think I know the perfect idea..."_ she thought.

"Sebby, do you know what I realized?" she said.

"What?" he replied. "Is something wrong?"

"Kinda. We forgot your birthday." she said.

"Haha, don't worry about it." he said, smiling. "We normally just go out for dinner anyway."

"But you've done so much for me, can I please do something for you?" she said.

"Sasha, you know that I don-" he said, getting cut off by Sasha sitting on his lap. She leaned in close to his face and looked directly into his eyes.

"Please?" she whispered, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. His cheeks flushed red.

"Y-yeah, uh, okay." he said.

"Great!" she exclaimed, standing up. "I've got to go downtown, but i'll be back at 3. Then we can go out together."

"Are you sure you don't just want to go to the Saloon, or something?" he said.

"Sebby, I love you, but this is too important for just a regular night out. I'll be back soon, I promise." she said, winking at him.

Sasha left the house soon after a quick breakfast, and bought a bus ticket into Zuzu city. The last time she had been here was when she moved out, and she shuddered at the thought of seeing anyone she had known before. She got off at a stop near a high class restaurant. After making a reservation, she headed to two different boutiques. First, she purchased an expensive suit and tie for Sebastian. On her way to buy a dress and heels for their dinner, she spotted a lingerie store across the street. She eyed the mannequins outside before walking in.

" _What color would he like?"_ she thought, browing through the store. A salesperson walked up to her, smiling.

"How can I help you today?" they asked.

"I'm looking for something... special. What would you recommend that would drive a guy crazy?" she asked, laughing.

"Hmm, well, with your hair color and body type...i'd recommend this," they said, pointing to a mannequin wearing a matching set of a black pushup bra and panties. The design was simple, but definitely not lacking, and the salesperson informed her that they were very popular among young men. She nodded her head and purchased them, excited to see what Sebastian's reaction would be later. After she had the suit and lingerie, she headed to her last stop, a boutique that sold high-class dresses and shoes. She picked out a long black dress with a slit along the leg and a deep V cut in the front, with matching black heels.

On her way back, she stuffed the lingerie bag into the bag with the dress in it to keep everything a surprise for later. When she got home, Sebastian was in the kitchen, holding a glass of water. He nearly dropped it when he saw the box and bag of clothing.

"Sasha..." he said. "I swear to god..."

She laughed at his expression.

"Hey, don't worry, i've been saving up for a while, and crops were really abundant this year, so I didn't go overboard." she smiled and handed him the box. "Get ready, dinner is at 6. Make sure you clean up well!"

They each headed to a different bathroom in the house to get ready. Sasha hoped that Sebastian liked everything she had gotten. She started off by changing into the lingerie, then slipping the dress on over it. After curling her hair and slipping on the heels, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed Sebastian's phone to call a cab. Just as she had finished the call, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned to see Sebastian dressed in the suit. His hair was neatly combed back, and the suit fitted him perfectly.

" _Holy. Shit."_ thought Sasha.

On the otherhand, Sebastian was thinking the same. Sasha's hair framed her face perfectly, and the dress she had bought showed off her body. She wasn't used to having cleavage exposed the way it was, but Sebastian's facial expression made her think that it wasn't a bad thing. She was holding a small black clutch that matched her outfit, and her shoes gave her a bit of height.

"Y-you look amazing, Sasha." said Sebastian, blushing.

 _"Fuck it, let's skip dinner."_ he thought. _"I could rip that dress off of her right now..."_

He gulped, and their trance was broken by lights flashing outside, signaling that the taxi was there. Sebastian straightened his tie and walked towards the door, opening it and holding it open for Sasha.

"Ladies first." he said, smiling.

"Why thank you, handsome!" she said, giggling. "Shall we be off?"

As she walked down the stairs to the cab, Sebastian closed the door, keeping his eyes on her as he locked it shut.

The drive to the restaurant was, surprisingly, not awkward, and they chatted back and forth the entire way there. Sebastian's eyes widened as he saw where the cab was pulling in. As they stepped out, a concierge greeted him. Sasha paid the cab driver as they talked.

"Welcome to our fine establishment, sir. Are you here together with that lovely lady?" he said.

"Yes." he said, smiling at Sasha as she walked towards them.

"Hi, I believe the reservation should be under..." she said.

Sebastian's mind wandered as they were lead to their table.

 _"How on earth did I get the opportunity to date this woman?"_ he thought. _"She's so...gorgeous? Perfect? Angelic?"_

At this thought, Sebastian began to notice the way guys looked at her when walking past the bar. He sped up to her and wrapped his arm around her waist in a defensive manner. They were led all the way to a secluded balcony table, set away from the crowd. The sun was setting and the location was perfect.

"I'll let you two get settled." said the waiter. "I'll be back with menus in a bit."

As the waiter left, the two were left alone on the balcony. Sasha walked right up to the edge, staring at the sunset over the city. Sebastian walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her body. Sasha turned around to face him, and kissed him on the lips.

"Happy birthday." she whispered.

After they had settled down, the atmosphere grew sweet. The sunset faded into a warm spring night, and the candle-lit dinner was delicious. As Sasha was paying the bill, Sebastian gazed into her eyes. Even though he had tried to convince her to let him pay, she insisted that she wouldn't feel right about it, and his guilt washed away as they were eating. Now, as he studied her face, he wondered what he did to deserve her affection. He felt overwhelmed with emotion towards her. She was everything a guy could ask for and more.

On their way home in the taxi, he noticed Sasha grow quiet. He turned her face towards him, using his hand to guide her chin upwards as his lips met hers. Upon their arrival at home, Sasha felt nervous about her upcoming intentions, but as he pulled her into his chest and held her close,

She realized that she had no reason to be.


	31. Chapter 31 - Surprise

Chapter 31

After Sasha pulled away from their embrace, Sebastian's eyes wandered to her chest. She gently took hold of his wrist, guiding him to their bedroom. They closed the blinds and kissed each other passionately, all the while taking Sebastian's coat off. She noticed this, and pushed him back onto the bed, smiling. His erection was beginning to show through his pants.

"Sasha, I can't tell you how gorgeous you looked in that dress," he said. "But the entire night, I was waiting for this moment..."

"You know," she said. She began seductively taking the dress off, first revealing the new bra. "Your surprises haven't quite ended yet..."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her, his curiosity growing as she pulled down the smooth fabric. She slowly dropped the dress to the floor, and he could feel himself unbuttoning his shirt faster as she watched her do a striptease. As she revealed the matching panties, Sebastian practically ripped his pants off, leaving them both standing there in nothing but underwear. His hands had taken on a mind of their own, and he could do nothing to keep himself away from her. He kissed her passionately on the lips, and then on the neck before pulling away, panting.

"Sasha," he whispered. His breathing was heavy. "I can't take it any longer...I need you..."

She nodded, biting her lip in a seductive way. Her every movement drove him crazy, and the lingerie was just the cherry on top. He leaned against the headboard of the bed as Sasha placed her head between his legs. She pulled down his boxers gently, and Sebastian's erection seemed to be calling out her name. She teased him at first, using her hands and thumbs across his tip to gain a reaction out of him, until at last he couldn't take it anymore. His moans grew louder and louder as she teased him. Every time he got the chance, he opened his eyes to look down at Sasha's curious face. Something about her drove him further and further away from sanity.

"S-Sasha...please...s-suck on it..." he said, almost unable to speak.

She followed his instructions carefully, slowly beginning at the tip, gaining a faster pace as his moans drowned out all other sounds. The string of saliva connected to her mouth when she stopped to breathe was enough to get him closer to climaxing. He found her pace a bit too slow this time, and gently used his hands to pump her head faster. She kept going until he orgasmed, quickly filling her mouth with his seed. Although she had pulled away, he hadn't finished, and a string of cum shot onto her lips, turning him on again. He thought it was over, but when he saw her still dawning the lingerie, his penis began to throb at the sight of her. She straddled his nearly-bare body, taking her hands across his chest.

"I'm yours for the night. Is there anything else you want me to do for you?" she said, smiling at his face.

"I'd say you've done enough, but Sasha...I don't think you're going to be in that bra much longer..." he said, eyeing her chest. Sasha blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Sebastian's penis flossed between her legs as he pulled her closer, resulting in a sharp cry from Sasha. He grinned at her, loving every little sound and movement she made. He unhooked her bra in a swift movement, pulling it out from between them as they kissed more passionately. Their tongues ravaged at each other, resulting in an exquisite feeling of lust between them both. Sebastian tugged at her panties, lifting her gently as to pull them off. He flipped her onto her back, pulling his boxers all the way off and throwing them to the floor. He grabbed a condom from the bedside table and tore it open. Sasha rolled it down his hard cock and laid back down, ready for his body. His penis entered her slowly once again, and she bit her lip to prevent a scream of pleasure. Sebastian smirked at her expression, and began teasing her back.

"You want more, don't you?" he said.

Sasha attempted to speak, but upon him bringing his thumb down on her clitoris, she found herself unable to do anything but nod. He began thrusting into her, slowly gaining speed. Every thrust sent her body backwards, causing her breasts to move in a fashion that Sebastian deemed irresistible. He continued teasing her with his mouth, finding words that gained reactions from her in ways she didn't think were possible. Between every thrust, Sasha found herself calling out his name.

"That's it...say my name..." he said. He wasn't used to the dirty talk, but it seemed to work well on Sasha, and he loved the way she responded with her movements.

"S-Sebastian...keep going..." she whispered.

"You're dirty...aren't you?" he said. "Do you wanna be my _fuck toy_?"

His gentle voice was met with her soft moans, and he began to crave more of them.

They found themselves nearing climax together, but not wanting it to be over quite yet, Sebastian pulled out. Sasha's breathing almost returned to normal, but he lifted her leg and rested in on his shoulder before inserting his penis again. Sasha found herself clutching on and screaming into a pillow, as his cock reached her sensitive spots. After one final thrust, they came in unison, dropping to the bed together and panting like dogs.

"You're good at dirty talk..." she said. "I didn't know that hearing your voice talk to me in that way could have such an effect..."

He smirked, rolling over so that he was sitting crouched on his hands and knees over her. His penis was just inches away from her, and when he dipped down to kiss her neck, it gently rubbed her clitoris, provoking a sharp cry in response from Sasha.

After discarding the first condom, they felt as though they were craving more, and rolled another one onto his still-hard penis. This time, she insisted that he tell her something he's always wanted to try.

"Sebby," said Sasha, gingerly. "You need to tell me _something_ you've wanted to do."

He shook his head in response. "You've done enough...you don't need to play out a fantasy for me."

"Please? You won't get this opportunity again for another year..." she said.

She lowered her head until her lips were right next to his ear.

" _Apparently, a lot of guys always fantasize of getting the opportunity to_ _fuck a girl senseless_..." she whispered.

The moment she kissed his neck, he broke, and let out a short moan.

"Well...i'll save my fantasy for another time..." he whispered. "But there's a position I'd like to try..."

He blushed as Sasha pulled away, grinning. He described it to her, then took her hand tenderly in his, rolling her onto her back. As she moved up to lean diagonally against the headboard of the bed, she wrapped her legs around his torso. He pinned her arms down with his, and began to push inside of her again. Her legs pulled him closer towards her, allowing his penis to reach the deepest point it could. He wasn't small, ranging slightly longer than 7 inches, and found the sensation of his tip hitting her deepest point numbing in arousal. His deep, powerful thrusts were enough to cause Sasha to attempt to use her hands to muffle the moans, but to Sebastian, it was music to his ears.

This time, she orgasmed first, but allowed him to keep going. After just a few more thrusts, he pulled out and yanked the condom off, cumming all over Sasha's stomach and breasts. He regained his composure quickly, but the sight of his seed still dripping from his penis onto her body was almost enough to make him hard for a third round.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking..." he whispered. Sasha grinned. He sat back, getting a better view of her body. She took her finger and dipped it into the liquid, and to Sebastian's surprise, licked it off. This gesture sent another stream of cum flying onto her chest, and she giggled. She brought her head down to his penis and licked it clean. The look of surprise on Sebastian's face made her excited.

"I think i'm starting to like the way you taste." she said. She ran her finger along her stomach and picked up another stream of cum before sucking it off. "Sorry, it might sound weird, but you're sweet tonight..."

"It was probably the pineapple in the dessert. I've heard that it can make cum sweet." he said, smirking. "Should we try it again sometime?"

She laughed.

"Yeah...its like a second treat...If I had noticed earlier, I would've swallowed..." she said. "I hope you don't think it's weird..."

"Actually, I think it's kind of a major turn-on for me...I could almost go a third time." he said, blushing. To him, it was a beautifully perverse sight.

"I could too..." she said. "Something about you is just irresistible to me tonight...I've found myself craving your body a lot over these past few weeks..."

Sebastian began gently, starting off by kissing her neck, leaving a little trail of saliva as he worked his way down to her breasts. He placed his mouth on one, and his hand on another, using his tongue and forefinger to tease her nipples. Sasha moaned quietly, her legs buckling underneath her. Sebastian had noticed that her nipples practically guaranteed an instant reaction, and as he ran his fingers along the lips of her vagina, he could feel her juices begin to flow out of her. Soon, he replaced his fingers with his penis, and he moved his head back up to kiss her neck. As he thrusted inside of her, she felt herself climaxing too quickly, and orgasmed before he had finished. She moved her torso back, and pulled away from him, moving her mouth towards his penis once again. The sight of discharge dripping from her tender pussy edged Sebastian, and as she laid on her stomach to finish him off, he felt himself approaching an intense orgasm.

"S-Sasha...this is going to be...a-a lot..." he said, breathing in jagged patterns.

He soon felt her squeeze his hand, signaling that he had permission, and after a final motion, she felt her mouth fill quickly with the white liquid. She swallowed part of it, but a fair amount of cum was still shooting out from him onto her lips, dripping from her chin onto her breasts.

She smiled as they both caught their breath.

"I think that was the most i've ever..." he said. He looked down at her body, wishing he could take a photo of her, still holding his penis as the thick liquid still trickled onto her hands.

"I'm glad you did." she said. "Happy Birthday, Sebastian."

"You have no idea how much that meant to me. All of this." he said. His eyes scanned the floor and he spotted the lingerie, which had been tossed to the ground. "You even dressed up for me."

"Did you like the lingerie?" she asked, grinning at his face. "I'm not completely opposed to surprising you once in a while if you really like it..."

"Sasha...you looked...I can't even explain it." he said. "I'm trying to think of an alternative way of saying 'smoking hot as hell...' that might be more romantic. Your body was irresistible."

Sasha blushed, sitting up to kiss his cheek. "I love you so much Sebastian."

Her words pierced his heart, and he found himself pulling her onto his lap and hugging her close.

"I love you too Sasha." he said. "This has been the best birthday I could've asked for."

Sasha eyed the three condoms on the ground and smirked.

"We might've gone a little crazy tonight." she whispered.

"Yes, but _god_ ," he said. "It was like I was a little kid in a candy store...I just wanted more and more of what you had to offer."

Sasha felt her body turn hot as her cheeks flushed red. After Sebastian had discarded the condoms and Sasha had rinsed the remaining liquid off of her face and chest, they met back at the bed. Their naked bodies merged together as Sebastian pulled Sasha into a tight hug. She fell asleep quickly in his arms, comforted by his warm hands. He watched her sleep for a while before kissing her on the forehead and drifting off himself.

In his dreams, all he thought about was Sasha.


End file.
